Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1545488
23 C hess has long been associated with strategy, patience, and power. For Chanel, it becomes s o m e t h i n g e l s e entirely: a stage on which Gabrielle Chanel remains the central figure. Created as a unique piece, The Chanel Chessboard transforms one of the world's oldest games into a highly elaborate work of watchmaking and decorative art. Every move circles back to Mademoiselle. Cast as both black and white queen, she presides over a board populated by symbols drawn from the house's visual language: lions, couture mannequins, and the Vendôme column, with quilted details and rendered in ceramic, gold, and diamonds. Only one chess set was produced, and it reportedly sold for $4 million to a collector at the Watches and Wonders Geneva show in April. Set on a base of black obsidian, the board's sit the two queens, who conceal the time beneath their pedestals, turning each piece into a secret timekeeper. Designed to be removed from the board and worn as pendants, they blur the distinction between jewelry, sculpture, and watchmaking. Steven Hempel 64 squares are framed by a glittering diamond border, with more than 9,236 brilliant-cut diamonds, approximately 110 carats. Thirty- two sculptural pieces have been crafted with extraordinary precision, balancing technical mastery with a sense of play. The white side reads like haute jewelry in miniature. Lions emerge in diamond-set white gold, couture busts stand in place of bishops, while Vendôme columns rise as rooks. At the center of the game Clockwise from top: The Chanel Chessboard. A secret timepiece is hidden inside the queens' pedestals. The queen is represented by Gabrielle Chanel herself.