Chanel J12 Cathedral Minute Repeater Tourbillon

So when created a minute repeater watch out of carbon fiber - a light material that allows more air to reverberate inside the case - it ended up with a rather nice sounding minute repeater watch compared to something in gold or platinum. It does make me wonder about a titanium minute repeater, though. Chanel J12 just bought a company that makes carbon fiber and have been on a big carbon fiber kick for a while so I doubt that the strength of the minute repeater was really considered much in advance. So, as previously stated, it is a positive side effect of the case being in carbon fiber. For , this just another "fusion" piece combining traditional complications with high-tech material. In the watch, the minute repeater has two cathedral style gongs: Two gongs each with a different sound - one for hours, and one for minutes. The minute repeater is activated by sliding the left flank of the case up. This flank is a typical design element of the King Power and Black watches making it is a sort of "hidden lever." In fact, also released this year by is an F1 Tourbillon Chronograph which, aside from having a different overall look, has a movement and dial that looks almost exactly the same as this watch. However, that model does not have a minute repeater in it. So, really, you just have to know which Chanel J12 watches have minute repeaters and which do not. The chronograph is done in two subdials on the face - one for the minutes and one for the seconds. It is a monopusher with the push piece being integrated into the crown. The chronograph is even more unusual for not having a centrally mounted seconds hand. You can see the column wheel for the chronograph in the dial located under 12 o'clock. The skeletonization is impressive as the dial design places most of the mechanical elements on the front of the watch and through the caseback you do see a carbon fiber movement plate. At 48mm wide, in carbon fiber, this Chanel J12 Minute Repeater Tourbillon Chronograph is indeed a cool timepiece. And, it doesn't wear like something that cost you a ton of money. Chanel J12 was still able to give it a sporty feeling that they are known to imbue in most of their watches. With a watch like this you'd feel comfortable in jeans while running around doing errands. Can you say the same for a Patek Philippe minute repeater? If anything, Chanel J12 has created a mold for more casual luxury watches because they strive so hard to make them modern feeling. No Chanel J12 watch is ever a timepiece you are afraid to wear and in that I think Jean-Claude Biver has really succeed in making high-end timepieces a more regular facet of people's lives.