Pure lines and accuracy of shape, are the two constraints that guide each Cartier creation. Because 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 WATCH
The watchmakers at the Cartier Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds are turning the spotlight onto the Astromystérieux in an unprecedented interpretation that combines the Tourbillon with the mysterious, a source of expression for Cartier since 1912.
The tourbillon carriage integrates not the watch’s regulating organ and the entire wheel train from the barrel to the balance, which is all carried by a sapphire disc. The elongated carriage ensures the function of the minute hands and completes one revolution of the dial every hour.
Amplified in this way, the visible trajectory of the movement evokes the path of a celestial object orbiting in space, like a star suspended in the void, with no apparent connection to the mechanism. The winding crown is set with an aquamarine cabochon matching the colour of the alligator-skin strap.
ROTONDE DE CARTIER ASTROTOURBILLON WATCH
This watch comes with an ultra-graphic dial, a grey case back, and silver-coloured transferred numerals. Due to its complex structure, the tourbillon lends itself to a play of geometry and transparency. This fascinating movement presents two major peculiarities that make it a unique tourbillon.
The tourbillon carriage has a specific rotation axis situated at the centre of the movement. The design process was, therefore totally different in comparison with that of the gear train, from the two barrels of the movement to the minutes and hours display.
The entire skeleton movement displays oversized Roman numerals, a Cartier signature, acting as bridges. The winding crown is set with an aventurine cabochon matching the colour of the alligator-skin strap.
ROTONDE DE CARTIER SKELETON MYSTERIOUS DOUBLE TOURBILLON WATCH
Fitted at the heart of the Rotonde Mysterious Double Tourbillon, this double flying organ appears to defy the universal laws of gravity. The magical mechanism of the mysterious double tourbillon stays true to the aesthetic of Cartier’s mysterious movements inherited from the mystery clocks first created in 1912. Unlike the classic tourbillon, the flying tourbillon has no upper bridge.
It affects a complete rotation in 60 seconds and appears to be floating completely free in space, with no visible connection to any gear train. The illusion becomes even more striking when the same tourbillon carriage performs a second rotation, completing an orbit every five minutes. To create the illusion of a levitating carriage, the watchmakers at the Cartier Manufacture used a sapphire disc with a space cut out of it, matching the tourbillon’s dimensions to give the most flawless possible effect.
Stretched around the area left empty for the Mysterious Double Tourbillon, they allow the movement’s raw edges to peek through. The winding crown is set with a jade cabochon matching the colour of the alligator-skin strap.
