Fashion houses now designer watches

Forget the handbags. Put down the perfume. As every savvy trendsetter knows, the hottest accessories coming out of the big fashion houses right now are designer watches-it's becoming just as important to wear the right label on your wrist as from head-to-toe. But which haute couture brands have found the perfect balance between exquisite design and superior craftsmanship, and made their way into an elite club of legitimate horology?

Chanel
In 1987, Chanel was one of the pioneering fashion houses to break into the market with the aptly named Premiére, a watch the drew heavily on Coco Chanel's vision. Jacques Helleu's attention to detail-from the "Place Vendôme" shape of the dial to its black-and-white design and use of pearls-made the watch an instant classic.

However, it was with the iconic J12 model that Chanel and Helleu really made their mark on timekeeping history. A revolutionary unisex watch that combined masculine and femimine elements, the J12 broke new ground by incorporating a highly sophisticated Swiss-made tourbillion into the movement, mounted on a ceramic plate.

The J12 has been a work in progress since the turn of the century, culminating last year in the release of the Chanel J12 Haute Joaillerie, studded with 605 baguette diamonds and true to the elegant design philosophy that makes Chanel timepieces so versatile.