Horological Meandering

Chanel unveils its new watch: Boy.Friend

 

When I was invited by Chanel to discover a new watch, I had to confess that I didn't know what to expect. But I was very curious. We don't have to forget that Chanel created one of the very few contemporary icons: the J12 designed by the late Jacques Helleu.

And I discovered Boy.Friend. Strange name for a watch. But very clever at the end. I love this ambiguity. Do you remember the J12? It was supposed to be a men's watch at the beginning and it was then adopted by ladies. I have the feeling that the opposite will occur with Boy.Friend. It is clearly a ladies' watch. But when you handle the Large version, you find in its proportions, in its handwind movement, in its understated design the components of a successful men's watch.



Actually, 6 different versions will be available in September when the watch will enter the Chanel shops. These 6 versions can be described as follows:

- 2 case sizes: medium size (34,6 x 26,7mm) and large size (37 x 28,6mm)
- 2 case materials: Beige Gold (do you remember Honey Gold from Lange? You get a similar visual rendering) and White Gold
- the bezel is set or not with 64 diamonds (medium size) or 66 (large size)

If you are comfortable with mathematics, this description would lead to 8 versions. The difference is due to the fact that only the Beige gold watches are available without the diamonds.



I was seduced by the design of Boy.Friend. The very Chanel octogonal case inspired by the n°5 Fragance bottle, inspired itself by the shape of the Place Vendôme explains a large part of the attractiveness of the watch. It seems to be simple at first glance but very quickly I could appreciate the details like the gadroon, the Onyx cabochon and the shape of the glass which reinforce the geometric design of Boy.Friend.



The devil is in the details but it is the same rule for successful aesthetics. The buckle follows the same principles than the case and is also inspired by the Place Vendôme. This consistent approach seduced me a lot.



The main hurdle for this kind of simple watch is to make it boring due to a too uncluttered outcome. The Chanel team managed to add several elements which all together, without disturbing the harmony,  break the straight lines of the watch. The crown in this context plays an important role. But the actual touch of spice comes from the shape drawn on the dial in which a circular finish was inserted.



If you look carefully at this shape, it will remind you a watch coming from Germany: the Lange & Söhne Arkade. It is maybe the reason why I like it! More seriously, its upper and lower curves combined with the inner finish allow to see geometric elements which are not straight. The whole design is softened and becomes at the same time more complex and more refined.



The middle size watch features a date window I found a bit too small for my eyes. This version is powered by a quartz movement. The middle size Beige Gold Boy.Friend without the set case is the entry level of the collection with a price of 11.400 euros.

The large size watch replaces the date window by a small second subdial. And we are touching here the true surprise about Boy.Friend. Believe it or not but this version is powered by a handwind movement, the famous and reliable ETA 7001.

For me it is a surprise because when it comes to ladies' watches, everybody agrees, more or less that even if ladies are more interested in mechanical watches, they tend to prefer automatic watches.



From my side, I start to change my point of view. It is not the first time this year that a major brand launches a handwind ladies' watch. We have the example sooner this year with the Millenary from Audemars Piguet. And to be honest with you, I start to think that Chanel is too clever  to not think that the large watch will not attract men. If we analyse the Beige Gold Boy.Friend, any Reverso, Tank or Cabaret fan (like I am) would be convinced by the perfect proportions of the case. 37mm x 28,6mm can even be considered as slightly too large for a dressed rectangular watch since a non-round watch is always perceived larger than it is actually. So maybe Chanel actually wished to dedicate Boy.Friend to its female customers. But behind the scene, the brand managed to inject all the ingredients to make it also successful with men.



Of course, because we are talking about a handwind watch, I had the test the winding experience. It was fine. We know the ETA 7001. It is not the most prestigious movement on Earth, not the easiest to adjust but at the end, it is reliable and nice on a daily use. The crown is easy to handle and improves the windind pleasure. A positive point. Due to the quite short power reserve (42 hours far from the standards of the newly created movement), the movement has to be wound everyday. Not a big issue because it is a part of the concept.

Boy.Friend at the end, with the large version, becomes a very tactile watch... like an actual boyfriend! I told you that the name was very clever! Be sure that men will be very jalous of this new Boy.Friend in their ladies' lives and once they will be able to do it, they will not hesitate to put it on their own wrist!

Please find below the wristshots I took during my appointment with Chanel:

Beige Gold version - Large Size:





White Gold Version - Large Size - Set bezel:

On a lady's wrist:

Beige Gold version - middle size:

And thanks to Chanel, I had the pleasure to join this wall gathering pictures of all the guests who could discover Boy.Friend!

I would like to thank a lot the Chanel team.

Pros:
+ a great case design with the right proportions
+ the handwind movement
+ the elegant and refined style
+ the ambiguity around the watch, especially the large version: it is a ladies' or a men's watch? For both at the end.

Cons:
- I found the date window of the middle size version too small
- the White Gold version is not available without diamonds

Fr.Xavier

This message has been edited by foversta on 2015-06-04 15:38:50

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