Chanel’s New Celeb-Endorsed Audio Jewelry Is Powered by Master & Dynamic

No uncertainty picking up connected the inclination of wired 1990s-style earbuds—must-haves for those craving nostalgia tech from an epoch they whitethorn not person been astir for—Chanel has dropped a “jewelry watch,” wherever the bracelet transforms into a necklace that hides a carnal transportation for earphones.

The Première Sound Watch is simply a riff connected the brand's Première watch, created successful 1987, but with a agelong sautoir necklace with detachable earphones and a quaint 3.5-mm jack—but, fearfulness not, the acceptable besides comes with 3.5 mm to Lightning and 3.5 mm to USB-C adapters, for those who similar much up-to-date tech successful their phones.

The full “luxury meets Lana Del Rey” instauration (available September 2) started 2 years agone arsenic a sketch by Chanel watchmaking workplace manager Arnaud Chastaingt, who was fooling astir with the conception of shoehorning audio kit into products worn arsenic accessories. While the ticker and necklace elements could beryllium taken attraction of in-house by Chastaingt and his team, Chanel wisely turned to Master & Dynamic—a marque with signifier erstwhile it comes to collaborating with luxury marques, including Louis Vuitton and Celine—for the audio expertise.

Speaking of which, the headphones diagnostic a 6-mm planar diaphragm and 11-mm beryllium-coated dynamic drivers with a frequence effect of 20 Hz to 20 KHz, truthful not excessively shabby. The ligament itself houses a distant for measurement control, play/pause, answer/hang up, and skip guardant and skip back, arsenic good arsenic a microphone for taking calls.

Water absorption for the wired buds, however, is conscionable IPX3—so simply splash proof. The 18K yellow-gold-coated quartz ticker connected the Première (with an octagonal lawsuit inspired by the stopper of the No. 5 perfume bottle) fares overmuch better, with a h2o absorption of 30 meters, should you beryllium foolish capable to spell diving with a portion of wearable audio jewelry that costs £12,600 successful the UK oregon $14,700 successful the US.

If lone Apple had known, erstwhile it removed the 3.5-mm headphone jack from the iPhone successful 2017, that it was going to commencement a aboriginal backlash wherever wireless earbuds similar the ubiquitous AirPods would beryllium considered truthful lame, entire Instagram channels would beryllium devoted to young, hep radical signaling their younker and hipness by wearing wired earbuds, simultaneously looking chill portion shunning convention, amended technology, communal sense, and wide convenience.

You see, you person to endure for your Y2K nostalgia. After all, however other tin you retrieve what it was similar to stone a Walkman oregon first-gen iPod erstwhile you weren't determination successful the archetypal place? Well, astatine slightest now, Chanel and Master & Dynamic person stepped into the fray, offering a chic enactment for those increasing weary of their intolerable cleverness of juxtaposing stylish apparel portion rocking cheapo headphones.