BLUSH HOUR

Chanel masterfully integrates time and makeup with the Blush Watch Capsule Collection.

- By CANDICE CHAN

The watchmaking industry traditionally favours restrained colours, such as black, white, and as evidenced in this year's J12 Bleu, blue. The new 19-piece Blush Watch Capsule Collection, however, deviates from this limited palette with a playful vibrancy usually associated with Chanel's beauty products.

Conceived by Arnaud Chastaingt, director of its Watch Creation Studio, the collection incorporates shades of rose, coral, and crimson directly from its lacquered makeup cases into watch dials, bezels, and bracelets. Across the capsule, movements are conventional—reliable automatic calibres or high-precision quartz—but technical intrigue resides on the surface. To execute his vision, Chastaingt's most precious pieces are created with the help of metiers d'art such as grand-feu enamel, tampography, gem setting, and gold sculpture.