SOUND OFF: The Chanel Premiere Sound Watch Necklace does more than tell the time: this latest addition to the Premiere Watch line also allows the wearer to listen to music and answer phone calls.
The new design was first spotted wearing by Blackpink’s Jennie Kim this summer, while longtime brand ambassador and face of the digital campaign, Lily-Rose Depp, will mark the watch’s launch on September 2nd.
Depp is the face of Chanel Premiere Edition and over the years has provided the image for the brand’s Rouge Coco Bloom and Rouge Coco Flash lipsticks, No. 5 L’Eau perfume, J-12 watches and Sac 22 handbags.
Two years in development, Première Sound began as a sketch by Arnaud Chastain, director of Chanel’s watchmaking creation studio, who came up with the idea of a wired audio product that could be worn as an accessory.
Courtesy of Chanel
The watch necklace also includes earphones, which were developed in collaboration with luxury audio brand Master & Dynamic, an 11-year-old American specialist that has worked with brands such as Louis Vuitton and Celine.
The Première Sound wired audio element has a built-in remote for music and phone functions, and in addition to a built-in 3.5mm jack, adapters for USB-C and Apple’s Lightning format are included.
The earphones can also be removed for those who are worried about them becoming outdated in the future or who prefer to just wear the watch necklace.
Priced at 14,800 euros, the unnumbered limited edition will be available in selected Chanel stores worldwide from September 2nd.
Leading up to that, Première Sound will be sold exclusively at Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche from August 31st and will be prominently featured in the Chanel Première Line pop-up store, which will run until October 2nd.
Lily-Rose Depp wearing the Chanel Premiere Sound Watch Necklace.
Courtesy of Chanel
The 350-square-foot space on the department store’s first floor will sell a range of Chanel Premier watches, as well as host a retrospective of photos taken by photographers Daniel Jouanneau and Guy Bourdin around the time of the watch’s launch in 1987.
Designed by the late Jacques Heloux, Chanel’s artistic director for 40 years, the Chanel Première “represents the first chapter in our watchmaking history, born of total creative freedom,” Chastan said when announcing the reissue in 2022.
