Gabrielle Chanel once said: “Don’t spend time on boring and changeless things. Use time for work and love!” Time is a trajectory and a way to show your attitude towards life. Two things that made Ms. Chanel The major events that I have been immersed in throughout my life have built a time theater with a unique narrative logic that attracts people to come and go. Haute couture, the origin of everything, now resonates creatively across dimensions and precise seconds. As a result, a show called “Couture O’Clock” was staged with the collaboration of two studios that transcended time and space. .
American writer Rhonda K. Garelick once described Ms. Chanel’s “ordinary” day’s schedule in her book. She never got up early, and would arrive at her studio on Rue Cambon in Paris at about 1 p.m. She could stand for nine hours. I pinned fabric swatches on models and tried different styles without eating or drinking until late at night. She is almost obsessed with work. Behind the door with the “Mademoiselle Privé” sign, she is immersed in the world of creative dreams. Her pursuit of details and persistence in precision have unexpectedly become the link between haute couture and haute couture. The key to barriers between watchmaking countries.
Time is the cornerstone of watchmaking, and it also controls the melody made by fashion. Naming a high-end watchmaking series with the word “Couture” is undoubtedly to reflect the subtle connection between the two that is rarely discovered. “With the Couture O’Clock collection, I wanted to open the doors of the Rue Cambon atelier, a unique time and space governed by the rhythm of a fashion collection. I wanted to immerse myself in an environment of complete concentration and practice haute couture. The patience and concentration required in the field of watchmaking,” said Arnaud Chastaingt, Director of the Chanel Watch Studio.
As the opening main show, the J12 Couture Workshop Automaton Caliber 6 watch is probably the best creation to capture the essence of the series. The bezel, interpreted by 48 trapezoid-cut diamonds, is like a window into the designer’s private territory. With the exquisite movable function, it restores the busy scene of Ms. Chanel in the haute couture workshop. Pressing the button at 8 o’clock is like breathing life into the figure holding tailor’s scissors, activating a 20-second joyful rhythm. Of course, this series of “animations” controlled by a precision gear train are all produced by the self-made Caliber 6 movement directed by its watch factory, and are accurately connected through more than 20 templates divided into five layers on the dial.
Even though the core is equipped with mysterious mechanical principles, Chastaingt uses black and white totems to depict a charming and childlike scene. Due to the movable function, Caliber 6 has twice the number of parts compared to other movements under the brand, not to mention the challenge of accommodating 355 parts in a 38mm watch diameter. Chanel is one of the few brands in the watch industry that continues to invest in movement research and development during the epidemic. Just one Caliber 6 took 5 years of hard work to complete, and you can see why the brand can call itself “high-end watchmaking”.
Cutting, fixing, sewing, copying, and knitting, every move Ms. Chanel made in the studio seemed to be completing a sacred ritual, and the tools she used throughout her life became crucial in the legend. supporting role. For example, the tailor’s scissors hung around her neck with a cotton rope, or the pincushions, buttons and thread spools filled with beads and needles. In Chastaingt’s eyes, each one is given a connotation that affects the development of the plot, “It’s An inexhaustible code of timeless style.” This ensemble drama, which invites a large number of heavyweight casts to play, brings together the wisdom of top craftsmen from various fields in the watch industry. Chanel is the director. Under the influence of her teaching skills, she choreographs a dream sequence that no one can match, just like inheriting the high-end watchmaking tradition. The spirit of cooperation between tailoring workshops infuses the minutes and seconds that are almost invisible on the dial with a profound meaning that is different from luxury.
A thimble, a tool that helps a seamstress protect his or her fingers while threading needles and threads. Decorated with more than 300 diamonds inlaid throughout, time is quietly hidden under the pendant. Only those who understand it can adjust the setting through the top buckle. The guilloche chain that tightly ties the timepiece is reminiscent of the way Ms. Chanel would hang her tools around her neck with a cotton rope, freeing her hands with ingenuity.
The pins that help tailors secure fabrics or clothing are transformed into 18K gold with snowflake-set diamonds to create a noble look. The 11mm delicate dial is positioned in a circular groove. Don’t be intimidated by its “high profile” yet, as long as you gently turn the mechanism on the left side, you will find that it still retains the original familiar function of the pin.
The history of the wrist pincushion can be traced back to the 18th century. This time, it has been changed to a bird’s-eye view to create a different style. It is not difficult to see that it is filled with “bead needles” made of suspended pearls, diamonds and K gold threads. Read out its diverse cultural background. Not only did it draw on the talents of the Chanel watch factory and Les Cadraniers de Genève, a dial manufacturer under F.P. Journe, but it also mobilized the Desrues jewelry and accessories workshop under the brand’s haute couture for reinforcements. Only with the joint efforts of the three parties, can the logo be made A unique diamond pattern appears on the dial.
The mannequin can be seen in tailoring workshops since the 1850s. It has made a great contribution to accelerating the development of the industry. Today, the 18K gold base is decorated with 1,610 diamonds using snowflake inlay techniques, and the sculpture has its own suction. The graceful curves that create an eye-catching effect. The auxiliary lines that tailors pasted on it in the past have been replaced by black lacquer lines carefully traced by craftsmen. Only by sliding downward can the dial hidden at the waist be revealed. It remains as elegant and mysterious as ever.
When the melody of Al Bowlly’s song “My Woman” sounded, the scene switched to Ms. Chanel’s famous Mademoiselle Privé studio, and her mind was filled with images of her singing and creating in the studio. Under the careful arrangement of the brand watch factory and Swiss automatic machinery and music box manufacturer Reuge, the unique Couture Workshop musical clock in the series provides an incomparable three-dimensional audio-visual enjoyment by integrating multiple senses. “This piece interprets a miniature world where scenes depict an eternal race against time, and the world of tailoring is not immune to this,” explains Chataingt.
A golden pendant necklace inspired by Chanel’s wooden desk key. It is a rare ticket that has the function of winding the chain and starting the “performance”. There are 5 mannequins made of Corian artificial stone. It is the protagonist throughout the musical, echoing Ms. Chanel’s destined lucky number. In the miniature space covered by the glass dome, they rotate and rhythm up and down with the music. Not only do they have to complete complex double actions in accordance with the brisk beat, but they also have to ensure that each key in the music box can produce accurate pitch. Everything depends on it. Reuge inherits the exquisite craftsmanship from the 19th century. The chandelier, which is reproduced in miniature proportions on the central axis, echoes the crystal lamps in his apartment. Diamonds are used instead of crystal tassels. The inlaying step alone takes two days. The base is hand-inlaid with 245 onyx stones, and has a specially designed structure to amplify the sound effect. The hand-made tape measure totem surrounding it cleverly accommodates the 24-hour and minute hour markers, which can be used by the mobile phone. In a rotating manner, the current time is indicated by fixed trapezoid-cut diamonds set with pearls.
The scene laid out in one go accurately captures the vitality flowing in the studio. It may represent Ms. Chanel’s comfortable day, but behind it is the ultimate work of the craftsmen working day and night. This may be the most suitable ending to the chapter of Couture O’Clock. All the obscure and complex mechanisms become particularly attractive and pleasing under the premise of beauty. It is the most difficult realm to master in advanced watchmaking. It is probably Nothing more than this. The song is over, but the wonderful drama staged in Chanel Time Theater is still to be continued.
