Cartier’s new watch collections reflect how their watches make their mark in the present, but also in a perpetually evolving future. Unlimited time, infinite creativity. There is the Tank, the original idea that Louis Cartier predicted would be successful, represented this year by a new Tank Normale—in reference to the very first one, created in 1917—and by the elegant Tank Américaine. Two hallmarks of Cartier watchmaking, along with new interpretations of the Pasha, Baignoire, Panthère and Santos de Cartier watches. To add to this, the Clash [Un]limited watch is a true creative fusion that takes the aesthetic heritage of the Clash collection and evolves it even further. This today looks to tomorrow.
The Tank Nomale
Each year, a rare watch enters the Cartier Privé collection, the meeting place for collectors who celebrate and explore the Maison’s legendary models through watches produced in numbered limited series. Today, Cartier Privé reveals its 7th opus: the Tank Normale. Created in 1917 by Louis Cartier and launched two years later, the Tank is one of the Maison’s most remarkable creations, and in the history of watchmaking. This year, Cartier has dreamt up an hour/ minute version that borrows the proportions and bevelled sapphire crystal of the original. Available in yellow gold on a brown alligator strap and in platinum on a black alligator strap. In addition, this model is supplied on a yellow gold bracelet or a platinum bracelet, with satin and polished finishes evoking a very 70s spirit. Cartier has added a skeleton movement to this emblematic model, accompanied by a 24-hour complication marked by a sun and crescent moon that is also skeletonised. While the minute hand turns around the dial in one hour, the hour hand goes round in 24 hours instead of 12 hours.
As a result, daytime hours appear on the upper part of the dial and night-time hours on the lower part. To symbolise the transition from day to night, watchmakers have coated the skeletonised bridges with a gradation of shades adorning the two halves of the dial. A limited edition of 50 numbered watches, this skeletonised Tank comes in yellow gold on a brown and green alligator strap with a blue sapphire cabochon on the winding crown and in platinum on a burgundy and grey alligator strap with a ruby cabochon. A version set with brilliant-cut diamonds completes the ensemble, in a limited edition of 20 numbered pieces, featuring an alligator strap in two shades of blue with a brilliant cut diamond on the winding crown. Watches that share the codes of the original Tank: blued hands, cabochon on the winding crown and, on the simple Tank Normale, rail tracks and a secret signature.
Tank Américaine
Launched in 1989, the Tank Américaine drew its inspiration from the Tank Cintrée watch, from which it borrowed its curved case. At the same time, the Tank Américaine watch introduced the first adjustable strap adapted to the famous folding buckle, for which Cartier filed a patent in 1910. In 2023, the Maison’s design studio is reinforcing the original design of the watch and its curved shape by carving a finer, more acrobatic line. The purity of its form is further reinforced by the style of the dial and the flawless integration of the brancards into the extension of the strap. Equipped with the new 1899 MC movement for slimmer cases, the Tank Américaine watch comes in all-gold and steel with a leather strap, rose gold and diamonds with a leather strap or diamond-paved white and radiate light rose gold with a metal bracelet. Designed especially for the Tank Américaine, its links feature polished facets that catch and radiate light.
Santos Dumont
Elevating the slim, understated shape of the iconic Santos-Dumont watch: this was the new challenge taken on by the Cartier Manufacture who, in 2023, is introducing a new, specially developed 9629 MC automatic skeleton calibre. Staying true to the elegance of the original 1904 model, the legacy lives on. With a gold or steel case, visible screws, a beaded crown and blue cabochon, the latest Santos-Dumont watch—reinterpreted in 2019—features a skeleton movement, with each and every structural detail paying tribute to the aviator. Inventive and narrative, this movement includes a miniaturised functional oscillating weight in the shape of a replica of the Demoiselle, a trailblazing plane designed by the pilot in 1907. The symbol is made all the more powerful as it seems to soar over a globe. This aesthetic and technical tribute to Alberto Santos-Dumont is a feat of achievement level with his own. He was a man who always aimed higher, designing more than 22 flying machines, accumulating patents for inventions, and putting his life on the line during every one of his experimental flights. This new micro-rotor calibre took the Cartier Manufacture at La Chaux-de-Fonds almost two years to develop and is comprised of 212 components. Made in rose gold and steel, the Santos-Dumont skeleton watch takes sophistication one step further with its limited edition in yellow gold and navy lacquer: all the details, the bezel and case are lacquered, including the skeleton bridges onto which the lacquer is applied delicately by hand.
The New Baignoire watch: Oval within Oval
Since its creation in 1912, the Baignoire watch has seen multiple incarnations. Like endless possibilities to which Cartier gives form, it follows a pattern of continuity while resembling only itself each time. This year, a change of scale, a change of function. In a new alignment of proportions, the dial and its signature Roman numerals are crowned with a richer gold ribbon. Cartier explores the oval of the dial, the watch’s hallmark, and transposes it into a bezel to be slipped as close to the wrist as possible. The birth of a hybrid, precious object: a watch that is also a piece of jewellery. This new concept exalts the sensual character of the watch, whose curved case guarantees comfort. In rose gold, yellow gold or fully paved, the new Baignoire celebrates the bright, sunlit gold of the very first watch. Purity of line, accuracy of shape, precise proportions, and precious details: the Baignoire watch is essential. It is part of Cartier’s culture of design and can be combined endlessly with other iconic creations of the Maison. Delicate in its dimensions, it also makes its mark with character on a black varnished leather strap. More couture, more refined perhaps, this alternative expression of its singularity is just as accurate. Change, while still being yourself.
Clash [Un]limited
The Clash [Un]limited watch is characterised by an elegant mechanism that stands out for its beauty, creating a jewellery watch that combines finesse with power. With beads, picot studs, clou carrés and mobility, the Clash de Cartier codes flow, intertwine, forge their way, and manifest themselves in the form of a precious watch. From faceted corners and bevelled dials to full and empty spaces, as well as round and square elements, its geometry is constant and true to the Maison’s style. A culture of design counterbalanced by Cartier’s graphic precision through movement, from the beads that roll over each other to the hinges of the bracelet, all articulated to create softness on the skin. An ambition to structure the watch and create perspective: from the form of its links to the mini case with its sixteen-faceted cut glass that accentuates the distinctive lines.
The legacy of Jeanne Toussaint and her sense of volume comes to mind. As early as the 1930s, she dared to provoke glittering collisions between preciousness and the industrial aesthetic of ball bearings. A natural link between the past and present, as seen in this Clash [Un]limited watch, which also uses chromatic contrasts to emphasise the geometric motifs. How? Firstly, by alternating brushed and satin finish gold, then, by combining yellow or rose gold with a new shade of gold in tones of shimmering violet, entirely developed for Cartier. It punctuates the watch, from the clou carré to the beads on the bracelet. With variations on the same theme in limited-edition releases, the Clash [Un]limited watch is available in diamond-paved yellow gold, rose gold and white gold. It also unites exceptional pieces with stones that enhance the design in black and white with onyx, black spinel’s, obsidian, and diamonds, or in different colours with coral, black spinel’s, chrysoprase, tsavorites and diamonds. Designed by the Cartier watchmaking studios, the Clash [Un]limited watch resides in the Maison’s creative repertoire of jewellery watches.
La Panthere de Cartier
Cartier’s iconic panther fiercely magnetises the company’s latest jewellery watch. It boldly closes its jaws on a black lacquer dial, the colour of which mirrors its famous spots. Fierce and wild, it is a masterful addition to the repertoire of precious La Panthère collections. A masterpiece that owes its elegance to the vitality of jewellery-making expertise, hand finishing, lacquered and polished spots, and setting. The challenge and strength are evident. They convey the strong character of this watch with its sculptural panther head. Everything is designed in three dimensions: nose, cheeks, eyes, pointed ears. This architectural approach to the panther is a direct descendant of the jewellery pieces launched in 2005, which introduced geometric cut-outs and sharp angles. This rigorous design is in keeping with the bracelet developed by the creation studios and the Manufacture, which is fully articulated and extremely flexible. Equipped with an ingenious system and no visible hinges, it hugs the wearer, as close to the wrist as possible, magnetic, and seamless. In yellow or rose gold speckled with black lacquer with tsavorite eyes or in diamond-paved white gold with emerald eyes, it captivates and captures the gaze.
Discover more about Cartier online, and keep an eye out for new releases from the fair landing both on our websites and in our showrooms.
