The Mademoiselle Privé collection of Chanel watches is named after a sign which stood on the studio door of Coco Chanel. It consists of ornate timepieces for women which are inspired by the life and affections of the famous fashion designer, Gabrielle Coco Chanel, who was also known as Mademoiselle. This year, Chanel is launching six new models in the series. Three of them are part of the sub-collection named the Coromandel after the Chinese lacquered screens which Coco Chanel adored. The trio of new Coromandel watches is made with exquisite grand feu enamel dials in Geneva technique, decorated with diamonds snow-set on white dial casings and supplied with self-winding mechanical movements of the Swiss production. Moreover, each is made in just a single copy and intended for hard core aficionados of the brand. Apart from three Coromandel watches, the Mademoiselle Privé lineage is likewise introducing three new Décor timepieces which we will address in one of the following articles.
Chanel Mademoiselle Prive Coromandel Watch
The Coromandel pieces got their name after the decorative Chinese lacquered screens that graced Coco Chanel’s home. A vocal aficionado of these works of art, the designer, once stated: “I’ve loved Chinese screens since I was eighteen. I almost fainted with happiness the first time I saw a Coromandel in a Chinese shop. Screens were the first thing I bought”. Inspired by the screens in question, the new timekeepers feature reproductions of the scenes depicted on them. The faces of the latest batch of watches from the Coromandel series show Asian boat themes in grand feu enamel which are executed with the use of so-called Geneva technique and are created thanks to the skilful work of a renowned enameller Anita Porchet. After being hand-painted and then set with sheets of 24 K gold, they are finally exposed to extreme heat which secures the permanence of the scenes.
Chanel Mademoiselle Prive Coromandel
These three watches with Asian boat themes feature the same dimensions. Each of them is placed inside a circular 18K white gold case with the feminine sized diameter of 37.5 mm and the thickness of 9.6 mm. Their case backs are hand-engraved and in the same material as the rest of the housing. Among the other shared traits are a sapphire crystal with glare-proof treatment, water resistance to 30 meters, a Swiss automatic mechanical movements with 42 hour of power reserve, hours and minutes as the only functions and a black Missipiensis alligator strap with a folding buckle.
Chanel Mademoiselle Prive Coromandel Leather Strap Watch
Furthermore, each piece has skeletonized hands in white gold. When it comes to the diamond decorations featured in these pieces, they are to say the least impressive with as much as 571 snow-set stones on the case (with the total weight of 4.13 carats). Just the crowns of these pieces include 51 precious stones snow-set on them, while each of white gold folding buckles involves 80 more brilliant-cut diamonds (0.4 carats).Featuring the work of a master enameller complemented with the precision hand-performed work of engravers and stone-setter artisans, three new Coromandel timekeepers are quite a catch, especially since they are made in just a single copy, though this may not prove to be permanent when we consider the previous practice of the brand. In some cases, Chanel was making additional copies of the timekeepers that were previously marketed as unique. Still, this happened only upon special requests of interested buyers and will surely not include many additional models, especially considering the skill and the amount of time that are necessary to create models with such decorations.
