Chanel's hot new release is the "J12 Cybernetic," a must-have for sci-fi fans! A masterpiece that's intellectually stimulating.

This article introduces recommended new models from "Watches & Wonders Geneva 2023" not as a comprehensive overview, but through unique photos and a personal perspective. The third installment is from Chanel, which always exudes ultra-cool style. All of the new releases, including the women's line, are fantastic, but the one that really caught my eye was the "J12 Cybernetic."

Chanel has been a leader in the watch industry since 2000

　I'd like to clarify that this is merely my personal opinion, but it's undoubtedly the fashion houses that lead the luxury business that have been leading the watch industry since 2000. This is particularly evident when you look at the models that have won the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix (GPHG) over the past few years. And Chanel has been at the forefront of this trend.

　Chanel's strengths lie in its unique sense, branding, and design, which are on a different level from other watch-focused brands, as symbolized by the "Black Revolution" that saw black, previously considered the color of mourning, recognized as a color that makes women look elegant. This year's 2023 releases are also filled with such captivating models. The company has even managed to turn founder Gabrielle Chanel herself into a character, a feat that no other brand could pull off.

A surprising "cyber" name

　Of the new Chanel Interstellar Capsule Collection this year, which draws inspiration from the world of science fiction, space, and time travel, the one that most captivated me was the J12 Cybernetic.

　The first thing that came to mind when I saw it in person was the J12 Paradox, which was released in 2020 and was my personal favorite of the year. The artistic design, made by cutting and joining two types of highly resistant ceramic cases, one white and one black, and the naming sense of "Paradox" (paradox, contradiction) were fantastic.

　The new "J12 Cybernetic" goes even further. The highly resistant white ceramic on the right side of the case has sharp, pixelated cuts that are impressive, but what really caught my eye was the name, which struck me even more than "Paradox." This is because, as a former editor of a science fiction magazine, this word holds a special meaning for me.

A "cyberpunk" watch!

The name "cybernetic" is supposed to come from "cybernetics," an information systems engineering theory that is the foundation of modern computer society. The word was coined by the American mathematician Norbert Wiener.

　In his 1948 book Cybernetics: Control and Communication in Animals and Machines, Wiener pointed out that "control in both humans and machines is achieved through information and its transmission," which led to the development of information and communication technologies that underpin our modern Internet society, as well as cutting-edge medical research, particularly in the field of neuroscience, which analyzes and understands living things as "information machines."

　This word is also the origin of the "cyberpunk" culture that dominated the world of science fiction in the 1980s. "Cyberpunk" is a word coined from cybernetics and punk rock, and historical works that emerged from this culture include cyberpunk novels such as "Neuromancer" by American science fiction writer William Gibson, the film "Ghost in the Shell" based on the original work by Masamune Shirow, the film "The Matrix" inspired by it, and Katsuhiro Otomo's "AKIRA."

　The works depict a violent, decadent, and hopeless future society in which everything is computerized and all that information is thoroughly managed on computer networks. Many of the works have a "dead tech" feel, in other words, a desolate, ruined atmosphere.

The most intellectually stimulating watch

"Isn't today's internet society the very definition of the dead-tech society predicted by the cyberpunk works of the time, one that holds no hope for a violent and decadent future?"

　Looking at the J12 Cybernetic, which is both a watch and a cool piece of contemporary art, one wonders if the science fiction-loving creators at Chanel had this in mind when they designed this watch. Looking at this watch, with its digital mosaic design on the right side of the case, one is seized by this thought. Of course, this is just my own "self-centered fantasy."

　But there is no other new watch for 2023 that is as cool, intellectually stimulating, and literary as this one, with such a contemporary art feel.