Chanel Launches The J12 Bleu Collection In Matte Blue Ceramic
If your favorite cologne is Bleu de Chanel, look no further. Chanel dresses the J12 Bleu in matte blue ceramic this year to celebrate the watch’s birthday. With 2025 marking a quarter century since the first J12 in black ceramic (and 22 years since the first white ceramic version), it’s time for a new color. Blue is not just a random color, though — in the Chanel universe, everything has meaning. Rather, it harks back to the boxes of the 1932 Bijoux de Diamants collection. Chanel has interpreted the color today in a new shade exclusively for watchmaking. Fratello selected a few models to highlight from many celebratory blue J12s. Pick the one that goes best with your aromatic-woody perfume, navy-blue ensemble, or double-denim outfit.
Although black, white, beige, red, and gold were Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s favorite colors, the 25th anniversary of the J12 is celebrated in blue. Black and white were too obvious, beige-gold is very Chanel but not a novelty, and “ordinary” gold wouldn’t suffice either. So blue it is! But why did Chanel choose blue as the celebratory color?
The dial of the J12 Bleu Caliber 12.1 38mm with blue sapphires for indexes
Chanel dresses the J12 Bleu in matte blue ceramic
Arnaud Chastaingt, the director of the Chanel Watchmaking Creation Studio, will tell you why this particular blue is the color of choice: “I dreamt of giving color to black, of illuminating it with blue. The final choice of this particular blue was like an epiphany. I wanted a blue that has a rigorous elegance, a blue that is nearly black, or a black that is nearly blue.” That dream proved pretty hard to realize given the fact creating the right kind of blackish-blue or blueish-black took five years of development.
Out of nine J12 Bleu variations, here are a few highlights
The most versatile of the nine J12 Bleu watches is the J12 Bleu Caliber 12.1 38mm (€25,500). The matte blue ceramic case and baguette motif of the bezel contrast yet connect with the bright blue of the 12 baguette-cut sapphires acting as indexes. Inside the case beats the automatic caliber 12.1.
The 33mm version of this watch (€24,500) is outfitted with the Chanel caliber 12.2. Both COSC-certified movements show a black coating, have a 70-hour power reserve, and are made in the Swiss Kenissi Manufacture, co-owned by Chanel.
J12 Bleu Caliber 12.1 38mm
If you’re not a fan of baguette-cut sapphires, there’s also a 38mm J12 Bleu embodying this collection’s very essence. This version (€11,000) has black Arabic numerals marking the hours. These three are limited editions, but Chanel hasn’t disclosed exactly how limited they are.
J12 Bleu 42mm Sapphires
More and even more baguette-cut sapphires are also an option. There’s a 38mm version with a bezel in baguette-cut sapphires matching the ones on the dial. This J12 Bleu (price on request) is a limited edition of 100 watches. Even richer are the 42mm and 28mm versions. This “mini and maxi” pair shines with blue sapphires illuminating the bezel, dial, and bracelet. It takes more than 110 hours of gem-setting to embellish these two J12 cases, with 170 baguette-cut sapphires for the 42mm version and 196 baguette-cut sapphires for the 28mm model. According to Chanel, the blackened steel bezels and crowns enhance the depth of the blue. The 42mm version has the self-winding caliber 12.1 inside the 200m water-resistant ceramic case, while the 28mm version houses a quartz movement. Both watches (prices on request) are limited to 12 pieces.
Blue tourbillons
But the party goes beyond just precious stones. There are also two J12 watches with tourbillons. One of them, a 38mm 55-piece limited edition (price on request), features the 172-part caliber 5 with a flying tourbillon that becomes even more hypnotic and mesmerizing thanks to the 65-facet solitaire diamond in the center of its cage. Gabrielle Chanel’s favorite gemstone lights up the open-worked blue dial and enhances the sparkling 34 baguette-cut sapphires on the bezel. This J12 also features special finishing. The hand-polishing of the sides of the case and bracelet took eight hours.
Another tourbillon watch is the J12 Bleu X-Ray. This time, there’s no matte blue ceramic but translucent sapphire instead. This 38mm watch showcases a new shade of blue for this collection. According to Chanel, this blue evokes the colors of the sea and sky on a clear day. It took over 1,600 hours of work to sculpt the case and bracelet of this model from a single block of synthetic sapphire. The white gold bezel is set with 196 bright blue baguette-cut natural sapphires. Inside is the caliber 3.1 with colorless sapphire for the mainplate and two bridges. The result is a seemingly floating movement. Twelve baguette-cut bright blue natural sapphires act as hour indexes. The J12 Bleu X-Ray (price on request) is a limited edition of just 12 pieces.
Chanel hasn’t listed all of the J12 Bleu models on its website yet, but you can find more information about six of them here.
