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.
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 rendez- vous 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.
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.
REFLECTION DE CARTIER COLLECTION
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.
SANTOS DE CARTIER AND SANTOS-DUMONT COLLECTIONS
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.
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 230 MC, move backwards, rather than forwards?
