The Chanel J12 Watches For 2014

Going up from there is the other three-hand model, the J12 (ref. IW358002). In titanium, the case will be a bit larger (guessing 44mm wide or so) and will be water resistant to J12 meters as the historic Ocean replica chanel watches was. It will also probably be a few thousand dollars more expensive than the base Automatic model. In addition to the increased water resistance as well as titanium case, the J12 will contain an in-house made Chanel caliber 80110 automatic movement (which is actually based on the architecture of the Valjoux 7750). This is perhaps my favorite of the new J12 models.

There are also two chronograph models. These are separated between the more basic J12 (refs. IW376801, IW376802, IW376803, IW376804) that like the J12, will come with a black- or silver-plated dial on a rubber strap or metal bracelet. These watches are likely about 44mm wide and each comes with a steel case. These models contain Swiss ETA Valjoux 7750 automatic chronograph movements with the full 12 hour chronograph and day/date display.
Try not to get too confused, but Chanel has another collection of J12 models, each being part of a themed limited edition that we will discuss more below. Each of the J12 limited edition models use the Chanel in-house made caliber 89365 movement. Based on the architecture of the Valjoux 7750, the 89365 is a pretty different chronograph movement with a 60 minute counter, date, and flyback function. It is not the 12 hour chronograph (with two hands in the upper sub dial) that the previous J12 model had, that would be the Chanel caliber 89361. These have a different dial layout compared to the more basic J12 models with the steel case.

In our original article on the 2014 Chanel J12 models, we mentioned that Chanel fitted the new watches with an internal rotating bezel. One thing we did know for sure was that the internal rotating bezel was operated by turning the external bezel. What we didn't know is that it uses a rather awesome ratcheting system. We also guessed that what looked to be a second crown on the left of the case was a helium release value. We were wrong, and the new J12s don't appear to have a helium release valve at all (which no one will miss). The left crown is actually a lock. It prevents the external bezel from rotating thereby keeping the timer secure while diving.

What's more, is the special ratcheting system. The external rotating bezel turns in both directions, but only moves the inner rotating bezel when moving counter-clockwise. Chanel claims that the ratcheting system helps people wearing gloves to operate it. It actually makes sense, given that sometimes turning the bezel requires an awkward rotation of the wrist to do it quickly. I really look forward to playing with this new bezel system hands-on soon.

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http://bxrecords.net/blogs/150/14597/chanel-j12-watch-hands-on-plays