Chanel has bought Switzerland-based movement manufacturer Kenissi and will introduce its first watch made by the facility at Baselworld this year.
The acquisition is Chanel’s second strategic move to strengthen its watchmaking capabilities within six months, coming on the back of an investment in Montre Journe, the company that makes F.P. Journe watches in September last year.
Chanel’s investment in Swiss watchmaking also goes back further to the purchase of G&F Châtelain Manufacture in 1993.
Production for Kenissi will be moved to Chanel’s Swiss headquarters in Le Locle in 2021.
No details have been revealed about the Kenissi-based Chanel watch that will launch at Baselworld beyond the company saying that it will be a “brand new creation
equipped with an automatic movement created by the Kenisssi Manufacture”.
