This year, Revolution turns 20. Two decades of chronicling watches, people and ideas have given us a front-row seat to a remarkable story: how an age-old craft has both preserved its soul and reinvented itself for the 21st century. To celebrate, we’ve chosen over 100 names and milestones that, for us, define the era so far. From leaders to watches, you can see the whole list here.

It might not be the first, but the Chanel J12 was probably the one that made all the difference. We are talking, of course, about its game-changing gender-neutral appeal that bridged the chasm between his and hers, dressed in an all-black hardwearing, hard-hitting ceramic case. At the time of launch in 2000, it was simply revolutionary in its design and use of ceramic in watchmaking. Twenty-five years on, we can only say that it has grown on us even more.

Chanel J12 Paradoxe

According to Chanel lore, then Artistic Director Jacques Hélleu couldn’t find a watch that he would wear, so — voila! — he designed one, tapping on his love of yachting for inspiration and naming it after the J-Class racing yachts of the 1930s. The J12 was meant to be that elegant, beautiful, fashionable sports watch that everyone loved, and guess what? Everyone did — men and women.

The very first J12 was intended as a men’s sports watch. But at a relatively svelte 38mm and with its sleek streamlined design in chic high-polish black ceramic, it drew much attention from Chanel’s most loyal fans — women. In 2003, the French maison released the all-white version in gleaming ceramic, two sizes (33mm and 38mm), and unapologetically unisex. The rest, as they say, is history. Gender conventions were shrugged off as women strapped on, a seismic shift in the context of the watch-wearing culture of the early 2000s.

2000: The first Chanel J12 in black ceramic

More importantly, it was not just women who were enamored with the monochromatic ceramic duo. The watch industry set up and took note too. Although the likes of Rado and IWC have already released ceramic models by then (the Rado Ceramica was released in 1990, for instance), none enjoyed the incredible popular success of Chanel’s monochromatic pair. Traditionally found in industrial applications rather than watchmaking, ceramic, thanks to Chanel, was now high-shine and intensely, irresistibly sexy. While no precious matter, it is immensely practical — ceramic is scratch resistant, lightweight, seven times more resistant than steel and hypoallergenic. From novelty, its all-black ceramic design ethos very quickly passed into mainstream watchmaking post-J12, in myriad guises as Audemars Piguet’s black ceramic Royal Oak Offshore, Hublot’s Big Bang Unico Full Ceramic and IWC’s Top Gun Pilot’s Watches. Chanel, too, went on to bigger and greater things with ceramics, such as 2009’s J12 Noir Intense, with 724 baguettes cut from a single block of black ceramic and 2011’s J12 Chromatic in titanium ceramic, with a lustrous metallic sheen.

Then almost 20 years after its launch, Chanel did the impossible by improving the J12, making it even more desirable. Arnaud Chastaingt, Director of Chanel’s Watchmaking Creation Studio, gave it a subtle design update that made the watch sleeker and more ergonomic. The J12 also received an important movement upgrade with the COSC-certified Kenissi automatic Caliber 12.1 with 70 hours power reserve, signaling Chanel’s seriousness about its watchmaking. To mark the 20th anniversary of the J12, along with other limited editions, the maison also released the iconic J12 Paradoxe, made by cutting, then fusing two ceramic cases, one black and one white, a highly complex process that demonstrates Chanel’s mastery of the material.

The COSC-certified Kenissi automatic Caliber 12.1

Still, things aren’t always black and white — even at Chanel. This year’s stealthy J12 Bleu collection shows just that with its matte and velvety ceramic coat of intense blue in several permutations, all while keeping closely to the J12 DNA. After all, as Mademoiselle famously declared, fashion changes but style endures. And that is exactly why the J12 is on our list.

Tech Specs: Chanel J12 Paradoxe

Movement: Self-winding Caliber 12.1; 70-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, central seconds and date
Case: 38mm × 10.7mm; white and black highly resistant ceramic and steel; water resistant to 50m
Dial: Black and white lacquered
Strap: White highly resistant ceramic bracelet; steel triple folding clasp