Baselworld Preview Chanel – Première Flying Tourbillon watch

Appropriately, this feminine incursion into the universe of watchmaking complexity is just as mysterious as it is beautiful and poetic.

After its ?rst Tourbillon on a J12 model in 2005, this year, for the ?rst time, Chanel presents a ?ying Tourbillon.

This exceptional Tourbillon, developed in close collaboration between Chanel and the Swiss manufacturers, engineers and master-watchmakers Renaud & Papi (APRP SA) – the advanced research and development branch of Audemars Piguet – is a

?rst for both companies.

Decorated with the motif of the camellia, a tribute to Mademoiselle Chanel’s favorite ?ower, this ?ying Tourbillon beats away discreetly and almost secretly at the heart of the Première watch. The ?oral design creates a delicate texture with the use of interlocked petals and a heart that is paved with diamonds.

The ?ying Tourbillon makes one rotation per minute, with the petals indicating the seconds.

Equipped with a power reserve of 40 hours, this movement (“Camélia Flying Tourbillon” Caliber) has been mounted on a custom-designed rectangular bottom plate. All the ?nishes and parts that are chamfered, drawn and circular-grained by hand, adhere to the highest Swiss watchmaking traditions.

The hour and minute hands are off-center and set higher on the black ceramic dial.

The watch case maintains the perfectly balanced original proportions, albeit in new dimensions: 28.5 mm by 37 mm, compared to 19 mm by 26 mm of the traditional Première.

The case, the bezel and the crown are set entirely with baguette-cut or round-cut diamonds or precious stones.

Produced in a limited edition of 20 numbered pieces, the “Première Flying Tourbillon” in 18-carat white gold is set with 101 baguette-cut diamonds for a total of 5.2 carats, and 127 brilliant-cut diamonds for a total of 2 carats. Each piece requires 23 hours of setting and over one hundred hours of assembly.