The Boat Race is shaped by more than speed on the Thames. Its traditions, rivalries, and rituals have made it one of Britain’s most enduring sporting events. In 2027, a new pair of Chanel designed trophies will join that legacy, honouring the winning Oxford and Cambridge crews and marking 100 years since the first Women’s Boat Race.
The 2027 contest will be the third edition of the Chanel J12 Boat Race, with Chanel continuing as title sponsor and official timekeeper. It also marks a first for the maison: its debut creation of trophies for a sporting event, bringing the J12’s design codes to the finish line. Arnaud Chastaingt, director of Chanel’s Watchmaking Creation Studio, designed the awards. His interpretation reworks the traditional trophy silhouette into a more architectural form, with a polished silver centre set within a crisp rectangular frame.
The women’s trophy is finished in polished white; the men’s in polished black. Both feature matt black accents, drawing on the J12’s signature monochrome palette. At the centre, a gold-plated silver medallion outlined in black brings the maison and the race together in a single detail. The trophies are made to be raised by an entire crew. Their frames were shaped with the winners’ shared celebration in mind, so the rowers can lift them together. That practical consideration echoes the qualities the race demands: precision, timing, discipline, and trust across the team.
British trophy maker Thomas Lyte brought the designs to life. The firm, which holds a Royal Warrant as Goldsmiths and Silversmiths to King Charles III, spent nearly two years developing the pieces, with more than 320 hours devoted to their craftsmanship. The timing gives the new trophies added resonance. The first Women’s Boat Race took place in 1927. In its early years, the crews raced separately and were assessed on both speed and style. The competitors were trailblazers at a time when women’s rowing was not yet part of the Olympic Games. A century later, the women’s race returns to that same stretch of the Thames with a legacy firmly established.
For the centenary edition, the men’s crews will race the Championship Course first, with the women’s contest following an hour later. At the finish, both winning crews will have a new prize to celebrate.
“Our ambition is to support and safeguard what makes this historic event so exceptional: its traditions, uncompromising standards and the remarkable collective endeavour it celebrates. The creation of these trophies embodies that commitment,” says Frédéric Grangié, Chanel’s president of watches and fine jewellery. “Conceived with humility and respect for the heritage of The Chanel J12 Boat Race, they unite Chanel’s creative vision in tribute to the athletes whose precision, discipline and teamwork define every edition. We hope they will become enduring symbols of achievement for the crews who raise them, today and for generations to come.”
