Above them dangles a chandelier with diamonds in place of crystals, while beneath is a marquetry plinth made from 245 pieces of onyx, inspired by her upholstered sofa. The time is displayed on a rotating tape measure, indicated by a fixed pairing of a baguette-cut diamond and a pearl.

As you’d expect, making such an extraordinary object relies on combining a formidable range of creative and artisanal skills. The musical movement is based around a genuine miniature keyboard, played by the rotation of a cylinder, into which a collection of tiny pins have been painstakingly drilled. These pins lift the keys of the keyboard causing a note to be played.

Meanwhile, another movement inside the Musical Clock Couture Workshop controls the busts, made from aluminium ceramic, and cut and fitted by hand, rotating above the onyx plinth, likewise hand-laid.

There are some equally head-turning pieces among the other new watches in the Couture O’Clock collection. The glamorous J12 White Star Couture, limited to just 12 pieces, shows off more than 200 baguette-cut diamonds, as well as having baguette-cut ceramics covering its case and bracelet, surrounding a baguette pattern ceramic dial.

Gabrielle Chanel herself appears on the dials of the J12 Couture Workshop Automaton Caliber 6 and the Mademoiselle J12 Couture, clad in a black and white suit on both, of course. On the former, powered by the in-house manufactured Caliber 6, she jauntily wields a pair of scissors in a whimsical depiction of her at work; while on the latter, she assumes a state of repose on her famous sofa.

The tools of Gabrielle Chanel’s atelier also inspire a range of new jewellery pieces and quartz watches, including a necklace featuring a watch inside a couture bust; a cuff inspired by a spool of thread; thimble and safety pin necklaces; and a necklace-watch, cuff and ring with a pincushion motif.

“With Couture O’Clock, I wanted to open the doors to the rue Cambon studios, a unique time and space governed by the rhythm of fashion collections,” says Arnaud Chastaingt, director of Chanel’s Watchmaking Creation Studio. “I wanted to plunge into the intensely focused atmosphere that is inherent to the patience and painstaking care demanded by haute couture.”