Chanel chessboard watch unveiled at Watches & Wonders 2026 is a black-and-white chessboard transformed into a timepiece, set with 9,236 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 110.94 carats, and features two removable queen watches, Chanel said.
The piece, called the Chessboard, was presented at the Watches & Wonders 2026 fair by Chanel, the company said. The board measures 37.9 centimeters by 37.9 centimeters, about 15 inches square, and is constructed from alternating black and white ceramic squares that are roughly 3.4 centimeters across.
The outer frame is set with 516 brilliant-cut diamonds arranged tightly and in balanced proportion to maintain a restrained overall look, Chanel said. The monochrome palette allows for heavy gem use without appearing overly busy.
Design and dimensions of the Chanel chessboard watch
The chess pieces are the most narrative elements of the Chanel chessboard watch, reworking classic chess motifs through the brand’s visual language, Chanel said. The king piece is rendered as a lion, a motif associated with Coco Chanel, with the white version in white gold set with 764 diamonds and the black version in black ceramic with white-gold details set with 142 diamonds.
The queen pieces are modeled on the image of Coco Chanel, with proportions and lines reworked for both decoration and recognizability, Chanel said. Each queen hides a quartz movement under its base that drives a 25-millimeter dial, and the movement provides 30 meters of water resistance.
How the chess pieces become wearable timepieces
The design converts the idea of time from an abstract concept into a wearable form, Chanel said. Each queen is removable and can be worn on a dedicated 18-karat white-gold necklace, or left on the board as a decorative time display.
The necklace is crafted in 18K white gold and set with 268 diamonds, accented with 40 banded onyx beads and two cylindrical banded onyx elements, and it centers on a principal diamond. Chanel said the chain measures about 320 millimeters, roughly 12.6 inches, and its length and weight were balanced for daily wear and collectibility.
Materials, motifs, and craft behind the Chanel chessboard watch
Other pieces carry symbolic references: the bishop is reimagined as a couture dress form, referencing Chanel’s haute couture tradition, and the rook draws on the column at Place Vendome (the central column in Paris’s Place Vendome) for its three-dimensional lines, Chanel said. Knights and pawns keep relatively traditional silhouettes, unified in materials of white gold or black ceramic with white-gold accents so the set reads coherently.
The entire Chessboard is set with 9,236 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 110.94 carats, Chanel said, a figure that speaks to both material scale and technical complexity. The brand said each diamond’s position, size, and density were arranged so the board presents balanced brilliance from multiple angles.
Chanel noted its past watchmaking milestones, such as the J12 series that established the house’s signature use of ceramic, and prior collaborations on high-end mechanical movements. The Chessboard extends the watch concept into an object that blends game, ornament, and daily display.
Chanel positioned the work at the very high end of the market, estimating a price of about $4 million, and said it will not be produced in volume, placing it closer to a unique or limited one-off creation. Chanel said the Chessboard showcases the house’s ability to move between high watchmaking and high jewelry.
At Watches & Wonders 2026, the chessboard drew attention for its scale and for converting decorative objects into functioning timepieces, a move Chanel described as a cross-disciplinary creation. The Chanel chessboard watch marks a literal intersection of game, jewelry, and horology.