6 Feb 2022 By AWAY IN STYLE
Cartier’s Iconic Shaped Watches
TimelessnessCartier’s Iconic Shaped Watches
Exemplified Through Maison’s Innovation and Savoir-Faire
Cartier exquisite watchmaking reflects a heritage of expertise, style, savoir-faire and craftsmanship. Among its iconic signatures are Cartier Tortue, Cartier Privé, Cartier Baignoire, Panthère de Cartier, Tank de Cartier, Santos de Cartier, Pasha de Cartier and Ballon Bleu de Cartier collections. Cartier’s watchmaking prowess succinctly expressed through a plethora of elegant geometry, seamlessly weaving together modernity and timelessness.
Cartier Tortue
As one of Cartier’s first designed wristwatches, the Tortue luxury watch embodies Cartier’s position as King of Creative Watchmaking. Designed by Louis Cartier in 1912, this tortoise- inspired shape is a ground-breaking design when all watches were round at the time. The new Tortue continues to symbolise the quintessence of the Cartier Watchmaking style — modernity was introduced to the mythical shape through a refined jeweller bracelet and an extra-flat case.
Cartier Privé – Tonneau
Revealed in 1906, the Tonneau watch was undeniably a visionary’s watch, challenging the tradition of round pocket watches. This Tonneau watch is faithful to the original, shaped like parentheses opening on a curved oblong flinqué dial. Seemingly simple in appearance, the contours of the watch dictate the form of the movement in a feat of technical prowess.
Cartier Baignoire
Cartier Baignoire features a continuous outline of parallel obliques united by refined curvatures to outline a form reminiscent of a bathtub (baignoire in French), this collection encapsulates the two key components of the Maison’s stylistic vocabulary: transformation and aesthetic. The artistry continued to evolve in the 1960s, the Baignoire Allongée watch marks a second chapter in this incredible story. Taken from Cartier’s jewellery repertoire, the watch is designed at times fully paved with diamond, or sculpted gold in the shape of clou de Paris, combining excessive chic with supreme simplicity, stretched across women’s wrists.
Panthère de Cartier
Both a watch and a jewellery piece, Panthère de Cartier is one of the most distinctive Cartier designs since 1983. Adopting a generous range of feminine looks without losing sight of wildness and liberty, the clean lines remain its softness that makes this timepiece a quintessential jewellery watch. Available in single or double loop, the bracelet watch glints with lusty sensuality, while the chain link in white gold or pink gold coils seductively around the wrist.
Tank de Cartier
Squaring the circle, the first Tank de Cartier watch was created in 1917 and was inspired by the design of a combat vehicle viewed from above, this watch simply follows its original philosophy – the brancards are the treads, the case is the turret. After 100 years since it was created, Tank Louis Cartier, Tank Française and Tank Américaine of the collection are still the timeless yet elegant symbols of Cartier, embellished by alligator leather strap or pink gold bracelet in different rectangular shapes of case.
Santos de Cartier & Santos-Dumont
In 1904, Louis Cartier transformed watchmaking by inventing Santos de Cartier – the first purpose-design square wristwatch to encounter a time when pocket watches were solely round. The Maison’s ingenuity is further manifested in the traditionally hidden screws that were boldly made visible and become an aesthetic code of Santos. The Santos de Cartier is a classic timepiece with an avant-garde revolutionary design that stands the test of time, available in yellow gold or rose gold, with or without diamonds, accessorised by alligator leather strap or metal bracelet. The finesse of this original 1904 model was retained in the new Santos-Dumont. Its unchanged square shape – reminiscent of the geometry popular in Paris at the time – promotes pure and symmetrical design to mirror the four sharp corners of the Eiffel Tower.
Pasha de Cartier
A harmony of opposites, Pasha de Cartier features an anti-conformist design that caught the fancy of each generation’s outspoken characters since 1985. To present an ultra-contemporary and oversized appearance, the watch is accentuated by four bold Arabic numerals, four clous de Paris and a screw-down crown cover for maximum visibility. The new series of Pasha de Cartier watches are available from the feminine 30 mm and 35 mm diamond accessorised versions, to the more masculine 41 mm version, with interchangeable straps.
Ballon Bleu de Cartier
Embodying the Maison’s commitment to artistry and originality, the sculptural case and polished bracelet of the Ballon Bleu de Cartier defy gravity with its ethereal charm. To avoid any breaking of the flow, the sapphire crystal winding crown is perfectly integrated into the case, with the crown cap under a metal hoop at three o’clock protecting the blue bubble. Matching with the silvered, pink gold or dark grey sunray-brushed dial, the burgundy or grey alligator leather strap adds a dash of elegance to male and female wrists.
