Cartier, The Watchmaker Of Shapes

Cartier is the watchmaker of shapes. The Maison has always distinguished itself through the creation of unique forms, beginning with the design and crafting of silhouettes that fit instantly recognisable shapes

Like an alchemist, Cartier transforms matter into personal and precious objects of desire. Those, in turn, carry intangible feelings, bear irreplaceable memories and elevate our soul.

Some watch mechanisms are marked by a true mystery. While they seem to be too impossible to even be real, they are nonetheless.

Hence, the true magic lies in the very existence of these watchmaking creations (or timepieces). Carrying an inevitable design, Cartier watches emerge as essential creations: they are meant to be. Cartier reveals the wonders of the world, as much as it creates them. Cartier is a true magician.

- By Cyrille Vigneron, President and CEO of Cartier International

“Cartier, the subtle magician, who dangles slivers of the moon on a thread of sun...”

- Jean Cocteau

Playing with shapes, crossing the border between the real and the imaginary or stepping through a looking glass: Cartier approaches time from the perspective of a magician.

Illusion? Metamorphosis?

Cartier perceives the magic of time, measuring its beauty and revealing its mystery through its watchmaking repertoire. An infinite creative field that allows for all kinds of exploration, from the most formal to the most abstract, from the most technical to the most precious, from the most daring to the most fantastic. All of these creations are intertwined by an invisible magic, a connection between style and spirit.

Magic is the common thread running through this edition of Watches & Wonders 2024. It continuously infuses its transformative power into the Maison's great classics, which are constantly being reinvented, such as the Tortue Monopoussoir Chronograph watch from the Cartier Privé collection.

It sparks unexpected encounters between figuration and abstraction through a collection of jewellery watches that transform Cartier's fauna and unsettle perceptions.

It invites us to play with the mystery of time. Sometimes it's an optical phenomenon, like the Reflection de Cartier watch, which shifts the real into the imaginary. Sometimes it's an unexpected measure, like that of the Santos-Dumont Rewind watch, which takes time backwards thanks to a movement that turns the hands counter-clockwise, or the Santos de Cartier Dual Time watch, which allows you to read the time simultaneously in two different places.

• CARTIER PRIVÉ COLLECTION

Cartier Privé is the eighth annual rendezvous for watchmaking enthusiasts, with a contemporary take on one of the most prestigious watches in Cartier's repertoire: the Tortue.

It follows on from the rare watches unveiled in previous years, such as the Crash, the Tank Cintrée and the Tonneau, all of which have been redesigned with a single ambition in mind: dedicating technique to aesthetics. This year, Cartier has chosen to introduce the monopoussoir chronograph complication.

The Tortue watch was born in 1912 from a powerful creative vision, namely to create a dialogue between curves and taut lines. The new hours/minutes Tortue is faithful to the original design, but has been subtly reworked. With horns stretched along the strap and a slimmer profile, the watch has flourished and been made lighter. Paying tribute to the very first model, it features apple-shaped hands and a rail-track that follows the iconic shape of the watch around the hour markers, making the dial even easier to read. The new hours/minutes versions are limited and numbered to 200 pieces and the platinum-set version to 50 pieces.

First introduced on a Tortue watch in 1928, the monopoussoir chronograph was notably reinterpreted in 1998 as part of the Collection Privée Cartier Paris with the sophisticated details we see today: blued-steel apple-shaped hands, a hollowed-out central seconds hand and triangular motifs on the four corners of the dial.

On the dial, the railway track has been placed on the outside of the Roman numerals. The entire dial space is devoted to the two counters. Start, stop and reset: the three functions are concentrated in a single push-button integrated into the crown and is activated in a single motion. The movement is 4.3 mm thick, making it the Maison's thinnest chronograph.

A watchmaker's challenge, the complexity of which can be seen from looking at the open back as it reveals the fascinating spectacle of the gear train. The column wheel in particular is an essential component that regulates the functions of the various levers and presents a real challenge in terms of production and adjustment.

The combination of expertise and master craftsmanship is the hallmark of this Manufacture 1928 MC movement, with its exceptional finish and the curves of its Côte de Genève decoration highlighting the shape of the bridges. The levers, springs and bridges are bevelled, the metal is brushed, and the wheels and barrels are rimmed. With its play of nuances - the azure effect of the counters, the silvered opaline dial, the rhodium-plated Roman numerals - this watch embodies the chromatic harmony of platinum and cabochon ruby that is so precious to Cartier. Limited edition of 200 numbered pieces.

• ANIMAL JEWELLERY WATCHES

Charismatic and untameable, the emblematic animals of Cartier's menagerie have been present in its watchmaking since 1914, the year in which the panther's coat first appeared on a watch case.

This year, a fascinating chimera, born from a meeting of the zebra and crocodile, inspires this entirely paved creation. It is simultaneously graphic and organic, with each stripe lacquered by hand. The silhouette of this imaginary creature encircles a diamond-shaped dial, as if to embrace it. The delicacy of the engraving around each coloured stone reflects the Maison's expertise.

“These new creations add to Cartier's range of animal timepieces. Figurative or abstract, realistic or fanciful, they convey the beauty of nature. For decades, this theme has been reinvented with each new creation, exploring its rich aesthetic, evocative power and symbolic force.” - Pierre Rainero, Director of Image, Style and Heritage at Cartier.

• REFLECTION DE CARTIER COLLECTION

Pass through to the other side of the mirror, where time plays with appearances. After the Clash [Un]limited and Coussin watches, the Reflection de Cartier watch continues the odyssey of magic, illusion and fascination. The collection's motto: transcribing the mysteries of time through bold creations.

The result of Cartier’s work on shapes, this watch combines savoir-faire from Cartier watchmakers and jewellers alike. It all starts with the open bracelet’s unprecedented generous architecture, which blends openwork and polished reflective gold with elongated lines and defined edges. Tension culminates as a delicate dial meets its reflection, where time appears to move backwards. The gem-like bevelled glass on the dial marks the piece’s double identity, equal in sophistication and precision.

This structure has given rise to a watch in white gold, that explores the effects of materials through combinations of paving. Snow setting and inverted setting combine to give both tactile and sparkling appeal.

• SANTOS DE CARTIER AND SANTOS-DUMONT COLLECTIONS

Conquer the skies, play with the concept of time and defy gravity: the daring legacy of aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont soars over the new Santos collections, which exude the spirit, style and magic of a pioneer with a free spirit.

Staying loyal to the aviator’s originality and ingenuity, Cartier is continuing the adventure with two newly-imagined versions of this icon. Two watches to question our perception of time. First, the elegant Santos-Dumont Rewind watch which changes how we traditionally tell the time and, second, the bold Santos de Cartier Dual watch which allows you to track two different time zones at once.

Bold and transformative, this new Santos de Cartier Dual Time watch overcomes distance, just like the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont did in his day.

Its mechanical movement with automatic winding combines two time zones, allowing you to tell the time both where you are and where you're from simultaneously, without sacrificing its usual resistance and reliability.

With tapered, ergonomic lines forming a synergy between the case’s lines and those of the bracelet, the watch in this steel version exudes elegance through its details. These include rhodium-finish
sword-shaped hands coated with a luminescent material, a seven-sided faceted crown and a grey counter showing a second adjustable time zone.

Like the Santos de Cartier collection as a whole, the bracelet offers ultimate practicality. Available in steel or leather, all versions can be interchanged thanks to the patented QuickSwitch system, the invisible mechanism of which blends into the case’s architecture. Meanwhile the metal bracelet can be adjusted to the nearest link thanks to its patented tool-free SmartLink size adjustment system.

Changing the course of time is the technical and aesthetic goal for the all-new Santos-Dumont Rewind watch.

The carnelian dial is full of boldness and its subtle nuances emphasise just how unique this limited edition in platinum is. Roman numerals indicate the time in an arrangement that reverses tradition!

Original and inventive, this Limited Edition follows in the magical and unprecedented footsteps of the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, for whom anything is possible. So why not have the apple-shaped hands, with their mechanical movement with reversed manual winding, calibre 320 MC, move backwards, rather than forwards?

This timeless watch remains loyal to the elegant original model from 1904 and to the pioneering spirit of Santos-Dumont, whose signature Cartier has engraved both forwards and backwards on the back of the dial.

Limited edition of 200 numbered pieces.