Two new graphical dials and four straps in „pop-rock“ colors are revealed.
The links between the brands are confirmed as an ode to the 70s.
It was in this wild time at the end of the yéyé years that France was modernizing.
New advertising agencies disrupted the habits of the French, who began dressing in long coats and mini-skirts to imitate their idols. France is on the move and so does fashion.
At the time, an advertising slogan caught the attention of the French: “Vous vous changez… changez de Kelton”.
For CHAPAL, it was the time of maxi rabbit coats: singers and movie stars loved them. Formula 1 drivers, ambassadors of the brand, made the cover of celebrity magazines with their Chapalac jackets and became stars also. François Cevert seduces Brigitte Bardot.
The Publicis drugstore is the last place to shop. Everything is fast-paced and carefree, and the clouds of the 1974 oil crisis have not yet arrived.
Kelton and CHAPAL celebrate this blessed period 55 years later. An opportunity to tell the new generation how happy and carefree France was.
This collaboration is renewed with a very limited edition of the 1972 Chronograph available in 2 x 50 pieces. The watch is powered by the ST 1901 caliber, heir to the legendary Venus 175, a hand-wound movement developed in Switzerland in the 1940s. The two dials become more graphical and the straps more distinctive.
This new creation is designed by Vincent Bergerat: “The starting idea for these new dials was the very „primary“ work of assembling sheet metal to build a machine as the first aircraft were made.”
The two dials are reminiscent of a military aircraft fuselage, with the metal welds running in a star pattern.
CHAPAL offers a remarkable squadron of two-tone “pop-rock” straps, made in its Crocq (Creuse) workshops on glossy lacquered Chapalac vegetal-tanned leather.
This leather plastification process was invented by CHAPAL and used on US Air Force jackets during the World War II, then in the 70s on bright colored rabbit skins.
Thanks to these colorful two-tone straps (loops in another sharp color), this Chronograph recalls the beautiful “Flower Power” years well known to both brands.
Chronograph 1972 Sky Red & Blue:
A dial featuring two roundels in inverted colors (French on the left, American on the right). It recalls the dual Franco-American heritage of the two brands and CHAPAL’s involvement in the manufacture of military jackets for French aviators during World War I, followed by its involvement on the American side in 1939.
Chronograph 1972 Sky White:
In the same spirit, this more refined dial also symbolizes the two monochrome airplane roundels. This sober version will be enhanced by the bright colors of the Chapalac straps.
