Cover Watches & Wonders presents Cartier’s most sought-after timepieces of the season (Photo: courtesy of Cartier)
Watches & Wonders presents Cartier’s most sought-after timepieces of the season (Photo: courtesy of Cartier)
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From hallmarks of Cartier watchmaking to the evolution of favourite collections, these new novelties embody awe and distinction
From the trendsetting Tank to the cockeyed Crash, Cartier has been nothing if not creative since its initial foray into timekeeping. Minimal, precise and the pinnacle of style, the maison’s first-ever wristwatch, the Santos de Cartier, was created in 1904 as a special edition for Louis Cartier’s friend, Alberto Santos-Dumont. A Brazilian pilot, Santos-Dumont needed the wristwatch so he could check the time without having to take his hands off the controls of his aircraft.
Fast forward to today, and the Santos steps up a gear with a skeleton structure that proves it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Available in yellow gold, pink gold or stainless steel, the watch is powered by a brand-new skeleton calibre, the 9629 MC automatic. Comprising 212 components, the movement took two years to develop and features a miniaturised oscillating weight, which keeps the watch running without the need for manual winding. For this playful iteration, the weight has been cleverly cut into the shape of a Demoiselle—a type of aircraft built by Santos-Dumont in the 1900s.
Santos-Dumont skeleton micro-rotor watch (Photo: courtesy of Cartier)
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A skeletonised version of the Rotonde de Cartier has also been added to the collection—and it brings together three of the most celebrated complications in haute horlogerie. An extraordinary timepiece, this year’s Rotonde is a dazzling pocket watch that boasts a minute repeater, which chimes the time on demand; a flying tourbillon that allows an unobstructed view of the movement; and a perpetual calendar, with day, date and month on display. Cut from rock crystal, this full-figured novelty is embellished with slices of black obsidian and white gold.
Meanwhile, a handful of Tank Normale models are set to strengthen the maison’s Cartier Privé collection, which revisits the brand’s most historically important designs. First unveiled in 1919, the Normale was one of Cartier’s most coveted lines, inspired by military hardware from the First World War. Cartier is known for its innovative, contemporary twists, but nevertheless remains rooted in its storied history. As such, the brand’s revamped Normale watches are presented alongside a renovated Tank Américaine—a cult classic introduced in the 1980s.
Baignoire (Photo: courtesy of Cartier)
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If you prefer gilded glamour, Cartier’s breathtaking Baignoire will be cased in pink or yellow gold—and a diamond-dusted iteration will be available for those with luxurious tastes. The face is set in a chic, sleek, bangle-style bracelet, but it’s the Clash [Un]limited collection that really steals the show. These three wristwatches are inspired by the geometric patterns championed by Belgian-born French jeweller Jeanne Toussaint, who acted as Cartier’s creative director in the 1930s. The most magnificent is set with careful cuts of spinel, tsavorite, coral and chyrosphrase.
Lastly, the brand new La Panthère model comes with hand-finished, lacquered, polished spots that bring this novelty’s sculptural panther head to life—as do two slivers of emerald, which resemble piercing green eyes mounted into white gold, or tsavorite in the yellow and pink gold versions. Whatever your taste, Watches & Wonders presents Cartier’s most sought-after timepieces of the season.
