Pure lines and accuracy of shape, these are the two constraints that guide each Cartier creation. Because the Maison’s watchmakers see watch design as a comprehensive whole, they integrate the complexity of their technical developments into increasingly sophisticated, yet subtle, watch designs. This year, Cartier presents three watches that clearly demonstrate this.
Cartier displays time around the Tourbillon, with three ultra-stylish mechanisms illustrating this true classic of the watchmaking repertoire. Rotonde de Cartier Astromystérieux, Rotonde de Cartier Astrotourbillon, Rotonde de Cartier Skeleton Mysterious Double Tourbillon – each revealing how time is showcased through the architecture of a skeleton movement, the hypnotising mysterious model, or in the complexity of a Double Tourbillon.
At the centre of this vision are two complications dear to Cartier: the mysterious and the skeleton. Cartier’s mysterious movement appeared in 1912 on a clock called “Model A” whose completely transparent dial showcased two hands that appeared to be suspended in mid-air. An unprecedented innovation, perfected at the beginning of the 20th century by Maurice Couët, one of the Maison’s watchmakers. Inspired by the work of the illusionist Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, Maurice Couët perfected an exclusive system that was brought to life on this first clock.
It is this innovation, as complex as it is fascinating, that the Maison is pairing this year with an emblematic movement of Cartier Fine Watchmaking, the skeleton. Skeleton watches compose a unique family, a perfect match of form and content, case and movement. An ingenious construction, this entirely openwork watch showcases a movement whose bridges help to tell the
time. Created in heavily protected workshops at the Cartier Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds, these three creations reveal a singular dialogue between watchmaking virtuosity and exacting design. A fully fledged research and innovation laboratory, the Manufacture is a centre that serves creativity and is dedicated to enhancing tradition and grounding expert practices in modernity. Since 2001, all watchmaking professions have been based at this singular site, allowing for the creation of Cartier watches, from conception to production: cutting-edge technology works hand in hand with traditional, artisanal crafts.
