Perhaps it was only a matter of time before Chanel proposed its own exquisite version of a chess set. After all, even more than the double C, the interplay of black and white graphic lines could be considered the most enduring of Chanel codes.
The motif’s recurring use can be traced all the way back to 1924 in a Chanel perfume catalog that featured a graphic layout of black lines against natural paper. Black lines also structured the white perfume box of Chanel No. 5, and then, on a much larger scale, black was used to frame the doorway and windows of a boutique on Rue Cambon, in modern contrast to the white facade. And let’s not forget Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s wardrobe, specifically how she often wore white ensembles for day that were trimmed with black.
“It is always a beautiful story of creation first, but it’s also a story of savoir faire.” —Arnaud Chastaingt
Fast forward to 2026, in the upper level of Chanel’s watch and jewelry boutique on the Place Vendôme, where these archival materials, among others, comprise a small display that culminates in the presentation of the forthcoming Haute Horlogerie collection: Coco Game. While the one-of-a-kind chess set with hidden timepieces is the pièce de résistance, the broader capsule is made up of a range including 13 watch designs that are masterpieces in their own way (and available by order).
“When you play chess, the notion of time is very important,” says Arnaud Chastaingt, director of the Chanel Watch Creation Studio, who began the first sketches for the chess set nearly three years ago. “This object might be a metaphor of Chanel time. It is always a beautiful story of creation first, but it’s also a story of savoir faire.”
Rarely, if ever, has a chessboard appeared this chic. The 32 pieces read like a lexicon of Chanel symbols: the lion as king, the couture bust as bishop, the Vendôme column as rook, the quilted horse as knight. Each figure is conceived as a miniature sculpture rather than a playing token. Bien sûr, Gabrielle Chanel presides as queen. The board itself rests on an obsidian base, its 64 squares rendered in alternating black and white ceramic and bordered with diamonds. The geometry is crisp, almost architectural.
Material contrast intensifies the design. Sixteen black pieces are sculpted from high-resistance ceramic—a material significantly harder than steel—then accented with white gold and hand-set diamonds. Opposing them, the white pieces are executed largely in gold, pavé-set and snow-set with stones. Across the entire chessboard, more than 9,000 diamonds—amounting to approximately 110 carats—are individually positioned and secured by hand.
There is, inevitably, a secret flourish or two. Each queen conceals a watch beneath her base that may be detached and worn as a pendant, suspended from a diamond-set white gold chain hidden within the chessboard. A clasp no larger than a grain of rice rises from the back of Gabrielle’s hat—as ingenious a presentation as any chess move. In this way, time is revealed selectively: to the winner.
All this technical mastery—choreography, too—is carried out at the Chanel Watch Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. There, each ceramic component undergoes between 10 and 14 hours of machining before firing, finishing, and assembly. The House’s decades-long research into ceramics enables the material to hold its own against 18K white gold and gemstones.
While Chastaingt has been expanding the imagination of the Maison’s Horlogerie studio since 2013, he notes that its designs have always been unconventional. “When Chanel decided to enter the watch world in 1987, we entered with no real permission; we were a fashion house,” he explains. “But we entered with the same level of excellence that we have with perfume, fashion, and the rest of the creation.”
Chanel Watch Manufacture’s gem-setting expertise is on full display here. Specialist setters developed an exclusive technique to evoke tweed, the House’s signature fabric, by sculpting gold around each diamond in intersecting directions. The setting—applied only to the white queen—required extensive trials.
“I like that Gabrielle Chanel is the first actress of the Chanel time.” —Arnaud Chastaingt
Zooming out to the broader Coco Game capsule, each timepiece is anchored in the same disciplined contrast. The Gabrielle Watch and Gabrielle Long Necklace capture Mademoiselle stepping beyond the confines of the dial. Sculpted in white gold from a living model, she emerges in relief, dressed in a diamond-set tweed suit edged with black lacquer. Beneath her gaze, the dial remains restrained. Produced in a limited series, the silhouette reads less as a watch or necklace than as a sculptural portrait.
These designs are just one way Chastaingt has sought to connect Gabrielle Chanel to the watch world, since she never actually produced them during her career. “I like that she is the first actress of the Chanel time,” he muses.
Meanwhile, the J12 X-Ray Coco Game revisits the coveted design as a near-transparent watch outlined with blackened gold. Sapphire crystal components reveal the Manufacture Caliber 3.1, a manually wound movement whose assembly alone requires a week of concentrated work. The sapphire elements entail approximately 1,600 hours of machining to achieve their clarity, while baguette-cut diamonds trace bezel, bracelet, and dial in sharply defined lines. The mechanics appear suspended within light.
Elsewhere, the Première Coco Game ring revels in concealment. A central baguette-cut diamond rotates to reveal two faces: one a pavé-set surface, the other an octagonal dial that echoes the geometry of Place Vendôme. Fully snow-set (a seemingly random yet harmonious layout), it transforms the idea of a secret watch into a jewel that is architectural yet compact enough to sit on the finger.
With Coco Game, time itself becomes part of the play. The chess set, which is entirely unique (it would take years to make another), has already found its future home. Does Chastaingt think it will be used—a round or two played on a Sunday afternoon—or simply displayed like a precious museum artifact? “That’s the mystery of our creation,” he says, “you never know what will happen.”
Set Design by Sati Leonne Faulks
Photography Assistance by Thomas Mercier
More of our favorite stories from CULTURED
How The Pitt’s Patrick Ball Went From Role-Playing Corporate Trainings to Starring on Broadway
The 2026 CULTURED Power Advisor List: Meet the Art Advisors Shaping the World’s Top Collections
A New Book Unearths the Heated Rivalry Between Artists Peter Hujar and Paul Thek
Speed Round! 13 Critics Review 25 NYC Shows Before You Finish Your Morning Coffee
Sign up for our newsletter here to get these stories direct to your inbox.
in your life?