Cartier

Crown and Caliber: Louis-Francois Cartier founded his namesake brand in 1847 in Paris, France. [Time and tide: It didn’t take Monsieur Cartier long to produce his first wristwatch, with the first model launched in 1853, six years after the company was founded]. In 1903, they designed their first men’s wristwatch. [Time and tide: In addition to releasing the Santos – the first commercially produced wristwatch in 1911]. Cartier created the timepiece specifically with the needs of pilots in mind. The idea was inspired by his close friend, Alberto Santos-Dumont, a pioneer in aviation for whom the watch is named. The distinctive timepiece featured a flat shape and a square bezel, and it became known as the Santos. Just four years later in 1907, Cartier began a partnership with Edmond Jaeger of the prominent watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre. Jaeger agreed to be the exclusive supplier of movements for Cartier watches. Then, in 1917, Cartier debuted the original Tank.

Cartier has a dazzling selection of watches, with 327 models currently available on their web site, and as such, it may be daunting for new visitors to make a selection, but it is worth investing the time to explore the range on offer because there are some truly exceptional timepieces available.

To help navigation the range logically subdivided into collections based on classic styles and themes each with their own rich history.

One that stands out for me is the small Louis Cartier Tank in pink gold with a leather strap shown below. This watch uses the manual 8971 MC movement also used on three other significantly more upmarket Louis Cartier models in the Tank range.

At the other end of the scale, there are some pieces that are far more complex and time-consuming to create, including the skeleton watches in the Rotonde collection shown below. The Rotonde de Cartier collection showcases the most advanced movements in Cartier Fine Watchmaking: the Astrorégulateur, minute repeater, Astrotourbillon, and skeleton grande complication.

 

 

1847 MC automatic 4Hz 48 hour power reserve movement – Santos De Cartier.

1904 MC base model Tank MC.

1917 MC manual Tank Louis Cartier small and large

8971 MC manual movement Tank models.

9619 MC Santos and Tank skeleton models 20 jewels