For more than 5,500 years man has been driven to build machines to measure what
we call “time”, maybe in an attempt to control it: obelisks (rudimentary sun clocks),
clepsydras (water clocks), sand clocks, pendulums, quartz watches, atomic clocks
and other ever more sophisticated gadgets.
Such notable scientists as Galileo Galilei and Leonardo Da Vinci drew sketches
that have evolved into the type of clock that we know today, like the one you wear
on your wrist. Man wanted to measure the passage of time to help him to know
where he was throughout the day. Today, thanks to this new technology, we are no
longer ruled by the rising and setting of the sun, by the seasonal migration of birds
or the movement of the stars.
And now we welcome another epoch, that of the brilliant Superleggera chronometer
watch from Chanel, with a mat black glazed ceramic casing and steel clasp, ensuring
that modern man is always at the right place, at the right time for his many activities.
The use of high-tech aluminum combines with black to suggest both sportiness and
elegance; we were struck by the automotive themes of its appearance, reflecting
its design concept. It also incorporates a high-tech ceramic two-dial chronograph.
The Official Swiss Chronometric Control (COSC) certifies its automatic movement
for use as a chronometer. Its aluminum and ceramic screw down crown and case
improve water resistance as required by today’s all terrain man.
The «J12» Superleggera was created in 2006 by Jacques Helleu and is available in a
mat version with an extra light rubber strap in black, for the first time combined with
a black, unpolished ceramic case, which achieves a sober and elegant appearance,
sporty, light and unmistakably masculine.
Technology File:
• Mat black satin finish ceramic case.
• The band comprises three strands of ceramic links, with a central strand of
aluminum, further emphasizing the two color theme, with an automatic steel
clasp.
• 45% lighter than the «J12» ceramic chronograph.
• The bottom of the case is in aluminum with a central disc of black sapphire revealing
the inscription «Chanel - J12 Superleggera».
• Silver face with a satin finish and numbers in black.
• Screw down crown and buttons of ceramic and aluminum.
• Aluminum and ceramic bezel with tachymetrical scale.
• Superluminova fluorescent hands.
• Ceramic and aluminum two-dial chronograph with a diameter of 41 mm.
• Waterproof to 200 meters.
The aluminum bezel is engraved with a tachymetrical scale enabling speeds to be
calculated in kilometers per hour, and its two dials (thirty minutes + seconds) are
inspired by racing car designs.
This new J12 earns the right to use the name Superleggera by being 20% lighter
than the classic J12, made possible thanks to the use of aluminum in key areas of
the watch.
Those who are passionate about design and who appreciate such a meticulous
engineering respect not only by automotive aficionados, but the Superleggera
signature also.
And to paraphrase Cortázar, “What more do you want, what more do you want?
Hurry up and fasten it to your wrist, set it free to pulsate and then do the same for
yourself”. Tick, tick, tick: the sound of the seconds that make up another amazing day.
You’re young, life is long
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