Chanel BOY-FRIEND 27mm Quartz Ladies Watch

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Chanel BOY-FRIEND 27mm Quartz Ladies Watch

Ref. H4469

The Boy-Friend collection began as Chanel's attempt to take the proportions of a man's dress watch and re-cut them entirely for a woman's wrist — not by softening the shape but by refining it. The rectangular case draws its geometry from Place Vendôme and the stopper of the No. 5 bottle, two Chanel reference points so embedded in the house's thinking that they recur across decades. Here that architectural instinct lands in Chanel's own "Beige Gold" alloy, a warmer, distinctly proprietary reading of rose gold, with 64 brilliant-cut diamonds set into the fixed bezel and a further 48 on the buckle — the clasp treated with the same attention as the case rather than as an afterthought. At 34.6mm lug to lug and just over 7mm thick, this sits flat and compact on the wrist, the opaline guilloché dial reading as jewellery from a distance and as a watch up close. The alligator strap — semi-matte Mississippiensis — keeps the piece from feeling dressy in the stiff, formal sense; it moves and softens with the wrist in a way that suits something worn daily rather than reserved.

Reference: H4469
Brand: Chanel
Collection: Boy-Friend
Case size: 26.7mm
Case thickness: 7.33mm
Case material: Rose gold
Case shape: Rectangular
Dial: Silver
Crystal: Sapphire
Bezel: Fixed
Movement: Automatic
Functions: Date
Water resistance: 30m
Bracelet / strap: Leather strap
Strap colour: Black
Clasp: Buckle
Lume: Luminous
Condition: Ex-display
Retailer: Mappin & Webb

Additional specifications

Lug-to-lug: 34.6mm

Learn more about Chanel

Gabrielle Chanel opened her first shop in 1910 and spent the following decades removing things from women's clothing — corsetry, ornament, the assumption that formality required discomfort. The jersey suit, the little black dress and No. 5 came from that.

The watches are made in-house, not licensed. Chanel opened its own watch manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1993 and has since taken stakes in the movement maker Kenissi, giving it access to genuinely serious mechanics.

Two designs define the output. The Première of 1987 took its octagonal case from the stopper of the No. 5 bottle and its chain-and-leather bracelet from the quilted handbag. The J12 of 2000 was made almost entirely from high-tech ceramic at a time when almost nobody was doing it, and it changed what a fashion house's watch could be taken seriously as.

More recently the Monsieur and the Code Coco have carried in-house calibres, including a jumping-hour movement developed by Chanel itself.

The company remains privately owned by the Wertheimer family.

1910: Gabrielle Chanel opens her first shop in Paris.
1987: The Première introduces the octagonal No. 5 case.
1993: Opens its own watch manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
2000: The J12 arrives in high-tech ceramic.
2016: The Monsieur brings a Chanel in-house calibre.

Also in 6 collections

This watch appears in Back in Stock (4,847), Automatic Watches (1,736), Watches Under 37mm (1,704), Women's Watches (1,622), Leather Strap Watches (1,049) and Silver Dial Watches (718).

What the specifications mean

A slim watch on leather, made for wearing with a shirt.

Strengths

26.7mm wears small and slips under any cuff
Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
Luminous hands and markers for low light

Worth knowing

30m means keeping it away from water

Best forSmall wristsFormal wear

Less suited toWater

Chanel BOY-FRIEND alternatives

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BOY-FRIEND 27mm Quartz Ladies Watch compared with 1 alternative from other brands
Specification	This watchBOY-FRIEND 27mm Quartz Ladies WatchH4469	BlancpainVilleret Quantieme Phases de Lune 29mm Automatic Mens Watch White17480256
Price	£14,495	£13,200
Case size	26.7mm	29mm
Water resistance	30m	30m
Movement	Automatic	Automatic
Strap	Leather strap	Leather strap
Power reserve	—	40 hours
	This watch	Wears larger