An enchanting energy surrounds the timepieces revealed by Cartier at this year’s Watches and Wonders. For these latest releases, the brand has continued to push the boundaries of form and function, challenging notions of what a watch should look like and how a watch should operate. From an open bracelet where one can tell time in a reflection to a piece that runs backwards, there’s no shortage of novelties to incite a sense of fantasy and play.
Reflection de Cartier
Combining the expertise of its watchmakers and jewellers, Cartier has unveiled the Reflection de Cartier, an open bracelet timepiece. The sculptural form with a rounded square profile calls to mind the aesthetics of the 1990s, combined with an ingenuity that has become a signature of the brand.
There is no doubt a play on the line between art and accessories here; more than just a device to tell the time, the Reflection de Cartier feels more like a functional art piece. Instead of a traditional watch face, the dial is placed on one end of the open cuff, so it sits perpendicular to the wrist. A mirror image on the other end, which has been polished to a high shine, seems to tell the time in reverse.
“Reflection is a veritable sculpture to wear on the wrist — like a skeletonised chain-link that must be ‘broken’ to discover the time,” says Marie-Laure Cérède, Cartier’s jewellery and watchmaking creative director.
“Disruption is woven throughout: different sections interrupt the visual rhythm and flow, and a variety of angles and faces break up its roundness. It tempts disorientation by playing with reflections, playing with architecture, and continuing to defy categorisation: neither a watch nor a jewel but an entirely new kind of Cartier creation.”
Five versions of the Reflection de Cartier have been created — three in white gold, one in rose gold (reference CRWGMC0002) and another in yellow gold (reference CRWGMC0003). All five run on quartz movements.
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The white gold models are covered in a variety of gems; the most classic-looking of the three is entirely set with 6.62 carats of brilliant-cut diamonds, with a sand-blasted silvered dial (reference CRWJMC0004).
The other two white gold models have matching white gold faces set with 0.41 carats of brilliant-cut diamonds each. Where they vary is in the stones that cover the cuffs; in addition to diamonds, one has chrysoprase, obsidian, emeralds and Paraiba tourmalines (reference CRWJMC0002), while the other has opal, tiger’s eye, amethysts and spessartite garnets (reference CRWJMC0003).
Cartier Privé Tortue & Tortue Monopoussoir Chronograph
Each year, Cartier redesigns a classic shape from its storied archives in the Cartier Privé collection, with a limited release of numbered watches. Following last year’s re-release of the original Tank Normale, the brand has unveiled the iconic barrel-shaped 1912 Tortue as the eighth piece to be included in this prestigious collection.
For 2024, two versions of the Tortue have been released: a time-only watch and a monopoussoir chronograph, with yellow gold and platinum options for both. Compared with the original, the new Tortue has a subtly more aerodynamic shape and a slimmer profile. Still, nods to the original are evident, with Cartier retaining the apple-shaped hands.
Both yellow gold models come with a sapphire cabochon set in the crown and an alligator strap in matching blue; the three platinum models, meanwhile, have a red alligator strap. Notably, two platinum models have been created for the time-only version, including one set with brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 2.01 carats — a first for the Cartier Privé collection. The diamond-set model (reference CRWJTO0010) is limited to just 50 numbered pieces, and there are 200 each of the others.
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The time-only Tortue measures 41.4mm by 32.9mm, with a thickness of 7.2mm. All three iterations run on the manual-winding calibre 430 MC, which has been adapted to fit the case. The yellow gold model (reference CRWJTO0006) has black printed hour markers, while the platinum models have raised rhodium-plated hour markers. The diamond-set model has a platinum faceted crown, while the crown on the other platinum model (reference CRWJTO0008) is set with a ruby cabochon.
Cartier first introduced a monopoussoir chronograph in 1928, on a Tortue watch. Though the single-button configuration largely fell to the wayside following the introduction of the two-pusher chronograph, its simplicity and nostalgic appeal make it truly a sight to behold. In fact, Cartier remastered its 1928 design seven decades after its introduction — with apple-shaped hands in blued steel, a hollowed-out main seconds hand and triangular details on the watch face — as part of the coveted Collection Privée Cartier Paris.
The new Tortue Monopoussoir Chronograph retains those features of the 1998 edition, though Cartier has imbued in it a modern sleekness. Both the yellow gold (reference CRWHTO0007) and platinum (reference CRWHTO0008) models are powered by the manual-winding calibre 1928 MC, which with a profile of 4.3mm is Cartier’s thinnest chronograph. The slim movement allows the watch — which is slightly bigger than the time-only version, at 43.7mm by 34.8mm — to measure just 10.2mm on its side.
Animal Jewellery watches
The animal kingdom has been a rich source of inspiration for Cartier for well over a century, with a panther print rendered in black onyx and diamonds first gracing a watch from the Maison in 1914. Today, fauna sparks imagination in the form of a collection featuring fauna-flaunting timepieces, set with jewels to emulate iconic animals in Cartier’s repertoire.
Pierre Rainero, director of heritage, image and style at Cartier, says the new Animal Jewellery watches “enrich the Cartier bestiary in watchmaking”. He adds: “From one creation to the other, this animalistic theme has been in constant evolution over the decades to reveal all its aesthetic richness, as well as its evocative power and symbolic strength.”
Among this year’s Animal Jewellery watches, all of which run on quartz movements, is a design that fuses elements of crocodile and zebra skins.
Three models have been created for this unusual hybrid, with varying materials — in addition to brilliant-cut diamonds — used to create the striped case: tsavorites on white gold (reference CRHPI01617), rubies on rose gold (reference CRHPI01616), and onyx with black spinels on yellow gold (reference CRHPI01615). Inverted settings on the gems add crisp dimension and texture to each piece, while black lacquer creates inky stripes emulating zebra stripes.
Another three models, each with a bejewelled animal head clutching the dial, have also been unveiled.
A panther is rendered in diamonds with pear-cut emerald eyes, sapphire spots and an onyx nose on white gold with a diamond-encrusted dial (reference CRHPI01657); in another white gold model, a crocodile is crafted from diamonds and emeralds, its jaw latched onto a silvered sunray-brushed dial with a brilliant-cut emerald at 12 o’clock.
The only yellow gold model in this set (reference CRHPI01655) has a tiger head of black spinels, spessartite garnets, yellow and orange sapphires and diamonds. Similar to its panther counterpart, the tiger has pear-cut emerald eyes. A yellow gold sunray-brushed dial and brilliant-cut diamond at 12 o’clock complete the stunning piece.
More crocodiles, fully crafted from brilliant-cut diamonds with a cabochon-cut emerald eye, come to life in another set of white gold watches; here, the majestic reptiles are gently wrapped around bejewelled dials.
One model features a full-diamond dial (reference CRHPI01611) with two strap options: the first in iridescent purple calfskin, and the second in navy alligator leather. A blue-toned model (reference CRHPI01612) comes with mother-of-pearl, sapphires and diamonds, as well as an enamel motif; strap options here include one in navy alligator leather and another in royal blue calfskin.
Those seeking yet more bling might enjoy the reference CRHPI01613, which has a dial set with tourmalines, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds, in addition to a full-diamond bracelet.
Santos-Dumont Rewind
Cartier has taken the notion of flipping the script to a whole new level with the Santos-Dumont Rewind. Released in a limited edition of just 200 numbered pieces, this bold interpretation of a classic silhouette adds a new dimension to the Cartier oeuvre.
While the Santos-Dumont Rewind may look quite similar to its siblings in the collection at first glance, a closer look at the hour markers reveals a unique feature: time runs “backwards” on the watch, thanks to the manual-winding calibre 230 MC, which has been reversed so that the hands tick anti-clockwise.
The Santos watch was introduced 120 years ago; designed for and named after Brazilian aeronaut Alberto Santos-Dumont, the Santos has been billed as the first men’s wristwatch. Today, it remains one of Cartier’s most renowned icons, instantly recognisable for its rounded square dial and visible screws.
The Santos-Dumont Rewind’s case takes after the original design, retaining the aesthetics that have made it a classic. Coming in at 31.4mm by 43.5mm, with a thickness of 7.3mm, the watch is sure to fit a wide gamut of wrist sizes.
Rendered in platinum, the case strikes a brilliant contrast against the rich carnelian dial, and at the same time pairing nicely with the rhodium-plated steel hands. The bezel is polished, while the case middle has a brushed finish. Like other platinum models in the collection, a ruby cabochon is set on the crown.
The watch is water-resistant for up to about 30 metres; on its closed caseback is the signature of its namesake, engraved twice: once in red, and a second time in an uncoloured reversed format, in a nod to its flipped functionality. A semi-matte alligator leather strap is tonally matched to the watch’s face, with a platinum ardillon buckle.
Cartier’s introduction of the Santos-Dumont Rewind feels like a challenge to consider time more thoughtfully. Where a watch is typically read immediately and perhaps without much thought, here one is made to pause for a moment, allowing time for an appreciation of the craft that has gone into the piece, as well as time to take a breath. For the forward-thinking enthusiast, a watch that runs backwards may well be the perfect timepiece.
