Chanel Created a $14,700 Watch With Wired Earbuds

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Key Takeaways

  • The Première Sound Watch from Chanel is a sautoir necklace watch that comes with earbuds attached.
  • The audio experience from the headphones is powered by Master & Dynamic.
  • The watch is available now for $14,700.

Chanel has released the Première Sound Watch — an unusual blend of horology and technology.

This cult timepiece-slash-accessory features a built-in remote control on the cable that lets you control the volume of your earbuds. The remote control can also be used to pause music, answer calls, and skip through tracks.

The watch was first showcased by Lily-Rose Depp in a digital campaign. It comes with a matte black audio cable woven into a 26mm steel case partially coated in yellow gold. There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack that connects the Première Sound Watch to smartphones. The set also includes Lightning and USB-C adapters, allowing it to connect to the latest smartphones that omit headphone jacks.

Chanel Premiere Sound Watch
Première Sound Watch. | Source: Chanel

While Chanel itself handled everything related to the watch and necklace, the company collaborated with Master & Dynamic for the audio experience from the headphones. The headphones are based on a dual-driver architecture with a 6mm planar diaphragm and 11mm beryllium-coated dynamic drivers. They offer a frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz. The buds are detachable, allowing you to remove them and enjoy your sautoir necklace and watch by themselves.

The water resistance of the product isn’t particularly impressive, with the wired headphones offering only IPX3 water resistance. However, the 18-karat gold-coated watch on the Première Sound Watch is water-resistant up to 30 meters.

The Première Sound Watch is already available in boutiques at a high £12,600 in the UK and $14,700 in the US. These prices aren’t unusual for luxury watches with real gold and extensive necklaces, but it’s clear this is aimed at a upscale audience that doesn’t care for wireless audio.

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