CARTIER - Continues to Surprise and Delight

#wtsihh | While Cartier has propelled itself to the forefront of mechanical prowess and technological invention, it has never forsaken its female customers. This year is no exception.

WORLDTEMPUS - 26 January 2012

Roberta Naas

It’s a great year to be a woman — especially if one can indulge in the wonders that Cartier has unveiled at the SIHH. Once again, this leading jeweler of stature steals our hearts with magnificent works of art that bring centuries-old crafts to new heights. Always a master in the world of animals, Cartier this year offers a host of stunning enameled, engraved and marquetry animals that includ parrots and panthers.  
In its alluring High Jewellery Collection, Cartier releases a host of watches – each more breathtaking than the previous. My particular favorite, in keeping with Cartier’s rich history of creating Panthers, is the new Promenade d’une Panthère watch – a dramatic piece whose moving panther on the dial is actually the oscillating weight of the watch. The haute horlogerie and haute joaillerie timepiece is powered by Caliber 9603 MC, a 204-part, individually numbered self-winding movement. Walking against a dark purple dial background, the panther is created in white gold and set with brilliant-cut diamonds and black lacquer spots. The 18-karat white gold case is rhodium-treated and set with 633 stunning diamonds weighing 6.8 carats.

A high-jeweled version of the Tank Anglaise boasting 13 carats of diamonds © Worldtempus/Elizabeth Doerr

Diamonds, diamonds and more diamonds

Other exceptional masterpieces include the Tortue watch with a cockatoo motif engraved entirely in mother-of-pearl against a pink enamel background. The three-dimensional dial offers depth, perspective and true beauty, which Cartier is very skilled at creating. Other three-dimensional dial watches feature loveable insects such as dragonflies, bumblebees and ladybugs, and enticing diamond-bedecked floral motifs.
Additionally, the year 2012 marks the anniversary of the Tank Watch, an iconic timepiece first revealed just after the turn of the twentieth century and fashioned after American tanks. Cartier’s newest Tank timepieces include a high-jeweled version of the Tank Anglaise with 13 carats of diamonds, a stunning asymmetrical Tank Folle watch, whose curvaceous shape celebrates women, and beautifully updated Tank Anglaise pieces offered in three sizes and in three colors of gold with varying degrees of diamonds. 

The three-dimensional dials of the insect series offers depth, perspective and true beauty like this loveable bumblebee motif. © Worldtempus/Elizabeth Doerr

Uniquely bringing craftsmanship to a new level, Cartier also unveils a unisex piece that perhaps tugs harder at the hearts of women than men. It is a marquetry dial watch with a koala bear motif. What makes this watch so amazing is not just that it is a marquetry piece, but also that the marquetry is anything but ordinary. Instead of using wood, Cartier turns to straw for the creation of this dial. Just 20 pieces will ever be made and each is unique as the straw marquetry dials are individually handmade. Yes, for women who love beautiful things, Cartier delivers again – making choosing a true nightmare.

Drawing on Cartier’s history of panthers, Promenade d’une Panthère is a dramatic piece whose revolving wildcat is actually the watch’s rotor. © Worldtempus/Elizabeth Doerr