Chanel is celebrating the 20 year anniversary of the J12 watch. And to herald this milestone, the House has released a limited edition anniversary model in white ceramic. 2020 pieces, marked with the emblems of Chanel.

Chanel has also created a new campaign, where six muses of the House reminisce about their last twenty years. In focus, Liu Wen recounts her life over the last two decades - from growing up in the Chinese town of Yongzhou to being dubbed by the New York Times as the first bona fide supermodel in the history of Asian fashion.

When she was just a teenager, she decided to change the course of her destiny. After working as a tour guide, she entered a modelling contest at 17. She didn't win, but her life was never the same. She started working as a model full time.

She began appearing in runway shows in 2008, notably under the aegis of Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel.

“At the beginning, I didn’t really know anything about this industry. So I undoubtedly appeared a bit robotic in my mannerisms. I was criticised particularly for smiling too much. Yet I still do this even today.”

One year later, and she has participated in over 74 fashion shows in Paris, New York, London and Milan.

Twenty years sounds like a long time, certainly it has been one of the most tumultuous times in history. But really the debut of this iconic watch in the year 2000 does not feel that long ago.

It was a ground-breaking piece for the house combing innovative material and cutting-edge technology. Did you know that this particular timepiece features a self-winding mechanism designed and manufactured exclusively for Chanel? It's called the Calibre 12.1

Inner allure, laid bare, the J12 cultivates its singularity. The watch of decisive seconds. Find it in your near Chanel boutique.

Watch Liu Wen sharing moments from her journey in celebration of Chanel's J12.