Cartier Archives - Revolution Watch

The Mosaic Dial Cartier Tank Brings All the Vibes

Stephen Pulvirent — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 09:00:16 +0000

The Mosaic Dial Cartier Tank Brings All the Vibes

Review

Jan 26, 2024

It might seem like Christmas was just yesterday, but, before you know it, Watches & Wonders 2024 will be upon us, with the usual deluge of new watches to enjoy. But with that in mind, I’ve been thinking a lot about the releases from last year that didn’t get enough love. It’s easy for us to get caught up in the “what’s next” of it all and to forget the good stuff we still haven’t properly enjoyed.

I don’t know that any watch better encapsulates that idea than the Cartier Tank Louis Mosaic Dial in yellow gold. Personally, I think it’s one of the coolest new watches of the last year and something that’s going to really stand the test of time.

The Background

This watch was released last year at Watches & Wonders 2023 along with a trio of other new Tank Louis models, all of which pay homage to the Must de Cartier Tanks of the late 1970s and early 1980s. This model is yellow gold with a special mosaic dial made of tiny tiles of rose, yellow, and white gold, but there were also more classic models pairing a yellow gold case with rich green and burgundy dials, as well as a rose gold mosaic model. But, for my money, it’s this yellow gold mosaic dial that’s the stand-out of the bunch. And, honestly, it’s not really close.

Must de Cartier was a sort of secondary line of more affordable Tank watches created by Cartier New York to appeal to the luxury and fashion markets as the Quartz Crisis swept across the world. Remember, at this time Cartier was actually three relatively independent companies, based in Paris, London, and New York, each run by a different scion of the Cartier family and each with its own personality. New York in general, and the Must line in particular, had a more adventurous flair to it, incorporating bright colors and patterns in addition to utilizing more affordable materials and movements.

It’s important to note that this new Tank Louis is not directly inspired by existing archival models like the solid colored dial Tanks are. Rather, the watch is inspired by the ethos of Must and the spirit of New York at the height of the disco era. Think Studio 54, but with a French accent. Similarly, these new Must-inspired models might reference the look of those watches, but there’s no gold-cap cases here or less-expensive movements. These are full-fledged Cartier watches through and through.

The Watch Itself

This watch is a Tank Louis in the “large” size case, which I would probably describe as a “mid size” watch to most people. It measures 33.7mm x 25.5mm and is just 6.6mm thick, so it’s very svelte on the wrist. The case and pin buckle are solid yellow gold and they’re mounted on a semi-matte grey alligator strap that pairs really nicely. Powering the watch is the Cartier Caliber 1917 MC, which is a hand-wound movement with a 3 Hz escapement and a 38-hour power reserve. It’s also tonneau-shaped, not round, which is a nice little extra touch for those who care.

The real signature of the watch through is the dial, which is made up of small tiles of white, yellow, and rose gold, which form a sort of textured gradient, from the top to the bottom. One thing to note: The Mosaic pattern is the same on all watches – it’s not one of those “each dial is unique” situations. This doesn’t bother me at all, especially since the balance of colors is really nice, but it is worth knowing.

The caseback is engraved with a whole bunch of things, including the Cartier logo, a mention of the watch’s mechanical movement, a nod to its Swiss manufacture, the gold hallmarks, and more. It’s all nicely done, but this is my only real complaint with the watch: I wish Cartier had left room on the back for customer engraving. So few watches do this nowadays and a special Tank is the perfect watch to buy, engrave, and make an heirloom. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it does bug me.

Why It’s Special

Special Cartier watches are, well….special. Ask almost any collector who’s been around the block a few times and they’ll tell you that rare, unusual Cartier watches are some of the most interesting, most collectable, and most enjoyable to wear watches on the planet. And I would agree with them. Few watch brands had as big a hand in popular culture in the 20th century than Cartier and few brands have a more interesting, convoluted history, which makes for serious collector catnip. Plus, if you’ve ever put a Crash or a killer old Tank on your wrist, you’ll know what I’m talking about. These watches are, for lack of a better word, just special.

The Mosaic Dial Tank might not have a platinum case or an unusual bracelet – heck, it’s not even a limited edition (it is limited production though, and I have a funny feeling it won’t be in the catalog for very long). But it’s got that magic. It’s a watch full of creativity and it immediately transports you to a ‘70s night club when the sun hits it just right and the 3D dial sparkles. That said, it’s also quiet enough that you could get away with wearing it more often than just for special nights out. In fact, I kind of love the idea of walking around LA with this tucked under the sleeve of a black hoodie – a little bit of fun just for me, environment be damned.

And then there’s the price. Sure, $13,900 is a lot of money – I’m not denying that – but this watch still feels like a total steal to me. For the record, this is only a $900 premium over the same yellow gold Tank with a plain black lacquer dial. Like I said, a steal.

Special Cartier watches are expensive and there’s no two ways about it. And, often, the new pieces are limited to small quantities and you’re likely not getting one anyway (classic “if you have to ask…” situation). So the fact that Cartier chose to price this watch closer to a standard yellow gold Tank Louis than to a crazy limited edition, and that they chose to make it a bit easier to get, is something we shouldn’t take lightly.

The yellow gold, Mosaic Dial Tank Louis ends up being a more approachable flavor of “special”Cartier watch. It’s still limited production, it’s got a bit of the brand’s signature artistic flair, and it’s extremely fairly priced in comparison to the rest of the Tank range. You get a ton of watch for your money here, both on the wrist and in a sort of broader collecting sense. As Watches & Wonders 2024 approaches, I’ll certainly have my fingers crossed that Cartier gives us more watches like this.

For more on the Mosaic Dial Tank Louis and other Tank watches, visit cartier.com

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FEATURED FROM SHOP

Furlan Marri

Limited Edition

Furlan Marri x Auro x Revo - Flyback Chronographs 3188-A ‘Salmon Flyback

$3,175.00

TECH SPECS

Movement	Manual winding Sellita caliber AMT5100, with rose gold plating and custom bridge for Furlan Marri; 58-hour power reserve; heated blued steel screws
Functions	Hours, minutes, small seconds and flyback chronograph
Case	38mm (46mm from lug to lug); stainless steel with olive-shaped pushers for Honey Blue flyback, Taupe flyback and Tasti Tondi pushers for Salmon flyback; water resistant to 50m
Dial	Taupe, blue, or two-tone salmon and black (Revolution edition); double printed text with pulsations scale, polished applied indexes
Strap	Italian leather with quick release system
Limited Edition	270 pieces per reference + 30 collector boxes (including one of each references) in addition.

The post The Mosaic Dial Cartier Tank Brings All the Vibes appeared first on Revolution Watch.

The Cartier Ballon Bleu de Cartier is not your typical round watch

Katherine Arteche — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 09:43:41 +0000

The Cartier Ballon Bleu de Cartier is not your typical round watch

Cartier’s definition of what constitutes a round shape is a design made manifest in the iconic Ballon Bleu. And the latest 33mm model gets a softer side, with a new face in blush pink.

News

By Katherine Arteche

Jan 11, 2024

“If the Ballon Bleu had to be a person, it’d be Angelina Jolie,” mused a friend who argued why he wouldn’t classify the watch as Cartier’s ‘most feminine timepiece’. “She’s not traditionally beautiful … but nonetheless a beautiful woman with strong features.”

Beauty is subjective. But likening the Ballon Bleu’s human equivalent to a beautiful and talented Hollywood megastar is … apt (even though she’s more of a Tank gal). The timepiece has, what the brand describes, an “accuracy of the shape”, where in this case, the watch’s astute roundness has been emphasized to a T.

Also, it’s worth noting that curvature and a grand cabochon spinel are not reserved for feminine audiences only.

The Ballon Bleu is a modern shape

Cartier debuts the Ballon Bleu de Cartier with a softer side, refreshing the 33mm canvas with a sunray-finished dial in blush pink. As with the other 33mm pairs in the collection, the new color is available in two models in steel, one diamond-set and one without.

However, that’s not to say that a pink diamond-set 33mm watch is immediately a ladies’ timepiece (Cartier never described the watch as so in its collaterals). At this year’s Golden Globes, diamond timepieces were seen on the wrists of Timothée Chalamet, Barry Koeghan, and Jonathan Bailey, in addition to brilliant sets of jewelry they had on.

Timothée Chalamet wearing a diamond Cartier Crash in attendance at the 2024 Golden Globes. (Images: Cartier)

When the Ballon Bleu de Cartier launched in 2007, it swiftly became a global sensation, marking it as one of the brand’s most recent and successful models. Cartier was ahead of its time, introducing the model as a unisex timepiece — featuring notably masculine variants such as the Chronograph and Tourbillon models — but ultimately the Ballon Bleu found particular favor among the female clientele of Cartier.

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, is known to be an avid wearer of the Cartier Ballon Bleu. (Image: Forbes)

Surprisingly, even the larger 42mm model, a size traditionally perceived as more masculine (as bigger was better), was frequently sported by fashionable women during its initial years. Remarkably, the Ballon Bleu stands out as one of the most triumphant and well-designed unisex models in recent memory, with its versatile appeal across a range of sizes, from 36mm to 47mm, making it equally appealing and stylish for both men and women.

Four elements that make up the Ballon Bleu de Cartier

A round watch makes sense on paper, but isn’t that what everyone else is doing? So Cartier took the round shape and ran a mile with it. In designing the Ballon Bleu de Cartier, the watch encapsulates four key creative focuses that define the brand’s commitment to excellence: the purity of the line, precision of proportions, precious details, and accuracy of shape.

The watch is, in essence, a circle within a circle. Its monobloc construction seamlessly integrates horns and crown cap into the middle case, creating a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing shape. This apparent simplicity belies a sophisticated combination of circular and spherical forms, showcasing Cartier’s dedication to intricate design.

The precision of proportions is a hallmark of Cartier’s craftsmanship, ensuring not only a visually appealing watch but also one that meets the highest standards of comfort, whether cradled in the hand or adorning the wrist.

The watchmaker’s stylistic intuition shines through in the precious details of the Ballon Bleu. The winding crown at three o’clock, adorned with a distinctive blue cabochon beneath a protective metal hoop, stands out as a recognizable feature, blending aesthetics with technical expertise.

In bringing it full circle, Cartier’s exploration of roundness is applied to the domed case on both the front and back, transforming the “rail-track” in an organic shape that introduces the iconic blue bubble. This innovative approach pays homage to watchmaking tradition while infusing a contemporary twist into the maison’s codes — and that’s why a round watch by Cartier is unlike any other.

Tech Specs: Cartier Ballon Bleu de Cartier with pink dial

Movement: Automatic-winding 1853 MC caliber; 37-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours and minutes; Central seconds
Case: 33mm; stainless steel; water-resistant up to 30m
Dial: Pink sunray-brushed dial
Strap: Interchangeable steel bracelet
Price: S$8,900 and S$17,200 (diamond pavé version)
Availability: Cartier boutiques in ION Orchard, Ngee Ann City, and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore

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From the Shop

Furlan Marri

Limited Edition

Furlan Marri x Auro x Revo - Flyback Chronographs 3188-A ‘Salmon Flyback

$3,175.00

TECH SPECS

Movement	Manual winding Sellita caliber AMT5100, with rose gold plating and custom bridge for Furlan Marri; 58-hour power reserve; heated blued steel screws
Functions	Hours, minutes, small seconds and flyback chronograph
Case	38mm (46mm from lug to lug); stainless steel with olive-shaped pushers for Honey Blue flyback, Taupe flyback and Tasti Tondi pushers for Salmon flyback; water resistant to 50m
Dial	Taupe, blue, or two-tone salmon and black (Revolution edition); double printed text with pulsations scale, polished applied indexes
Strap	Italian leather with quick release system
Limited Edition	270 pieces per reference + 30 collector boxes (including one of each references) in addition.

The post The Cartier Ballon Bleu de Cartier is not your typical round watch appeared first on Revolution Watch.

Cartier’s Tank: An Icon from Américaine to Française

Felix Scholz — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 09:00:51 +0000

Cartier’s Tank: An Icon from Américaine to Française

Exploring the timeless design and global story and of the Cartier Tank, from Américaine to Française.

Feature

By Felix Scholz

Jan 1, 2024

The Cartier Tank is more than an exceptional, iconic watch; it’s a genuinely legendary design. The Tank has earned its place in industrial design Valhalla as one of the greatest examples not just of watch design, but of fine product design more broadly. Its longevity and heroic stature were not the result of luck or circumstance. Rather, it is thanks to the careful consideration of generations of designers and craftspeople who understand how special this seemingly simple shaped watch is, and work exceptionally hard to maintain and honor its tradition and the culture around it. The result is that the essential design of the Tank is a material object that transcends time and geography. Regardless of whether it is worn in London in the Swinging Sixties or Sydney today, the Cartier Tank still stands for elegance. Of course, there’s been an immense amount of variation among the many models of the Tank; its fundamental lines promote diversity and innovation rather than monotony. From its early beginnings to models inspired by America and France, we explore just how the Cartier Tank has conquered the world.

From Paris to the world

One man uniquely well suited to explaining and exploring the Cartier Tank’s history and its role as a design icon is Pierre Rainero, Cartier’s Image, Style and Heritage Director. For Rainero, the key to the Tank’s success is simple — literally. “As far as the idea of the Tank, and why it is so strong, is because it’s the simplest design for a watch to be worn on the wrist. When you think of it, a watch on the wrist is a case attached to two parts of a strap or bracelet, and when you think that this case has been designed with two parallel lines to attach a strap, there’s no idea more simple than that.”

Pierre Rainero, Cartier’s Image, Style and Heritage Director

Simple as it may seem, the idea at the core of the Tank has certainly endured, though not through chance. Rainero explains how the earliest days of the Tank were some of its most formative: “The first Tank was designed, as you know, in 1917. The design was called Normale a few years later. It was a square dial within a rectangle. Louis Cartier himself, I think it was in 1921, wanted to make it even purer. So, he got rid of the two perpendicular case elements, and the Louis Cartier model was born. It was his intention, and it’s very rare in our archives that a specific object is named after Louis Cartier. That model has born his name since 1921, and it shows the will he had to modify the original shape. That’s when the previous model was named the Tank Normale. The Louis Cartier model was seen as something less square and even more refined.”

The original Tank was first designed by Louis Cartier in 1917, inspired by the top profile of the new Renault FT-17 tanks that fought in the World War I. It was introduced to the public in 1919 in a series of only six pieces. With its angular brancards, it is now known as the Tank Normale to differentiate it from the Tank Louis Cartier, which has rounded brancards. This example dates from 1920. (Image: Cartier)

For another brand, this evolution of an early design would be par for the course. After all, it’s perfectly normal for a watch design to have a dynamic relationship with the world around it — sizes go up and down, case materials go in and out of vogue. But in the case of Cartier, the emergence of the hallowed Louis Cartier design speaks to a deeper truth. “This new design shows two things,” elaborates Rainero. “It shows the solution in terms of design was really very clever, and it also shows that — through a specific effort from Louis Cartier — it was a deliberate aim to achieve the simplest possible design for a watch worn on the wrist.”

At the very dawn of the wristwatch, this early drive for superior design didn’t just create one of the most enduring watches of all time; it, as Rainero explains, fostered a culture of design within the brand. “As a result, I think there’s been no equivalent to the Tank on the market since then. There’s no other possibility to design that is simpler. It’s also a great example of a certain notion we have at Cartier, how we convey the notion of elegance. Of course, elegance is a very subjective idea, perhaps the most subjective. But at Cartier, we have a definition: ‘nothing too much’. There needs to be a balance in the effort we make to design things. Not to create something that looks too busy or too heavy. There’s another virtue, another quality from the Tank, which is the idea of comfort when you wear it, and that’s very important.”

The new Normale

Cartier Privé Tank Normale

Earlier this year, the Tank Normale, the one that started it all, returned triumphantly to the Cartier catalog, making a special appearance as part of the limited-edition Cartier Privé collection. There are actually quite a few versions on offer, including 50 pieces in yellow gold and another 50 in platinum with a contemporary skeleton movement, and an even more limited fully-set version. The version that will resonate most strongly with collectors, however, has to be the more faithful interpretation of the original, offered in yellow gold and platinum, and featuring many details inspired by the century-old design. The beveled sapphire crystal is a lovely touch, and the Roman dial with inner railroad track is pure Cartier, while the hidden ‘1917’ date on the VII numeral is a particularly nice touch. Size-wise, these models are a little more modern in proportion, measuring 35.2mm by 27.8mm across. The most exciting detail, though, is the bracelet option. For the first time in a Cartier Privé release, Cartier has offered a matching precious-metal bracelet. The seven-link bracelet matches the brushed satin finish of the case, creating a perfectly flowing whole that certainly lives up to Cartier’s notions of elegance.

Cartier Privé Tank Normale

Tech Specs

Cartier Privé Tank Normale

Movement: Manual-winding caliber 070 (standard), 38-hour power reserve; manual-winding caliber 9628 (skeleton), 36-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours and minutes (standard); hours, minutes, 24-hour day/night indicator (skeleton)
Case: 32.6mm x 25.7mm (standard), 35.2mm x 27.8mm (skeleton); 18K yellow gold or platinum
Strap: Alligator leather with matching metal buckle or matching metal bracelet (standard); alligator leather with matching metal buckle (skeleton)

What’s in a name

Tank Louis Cartier

The Tank Louis Cartier is, for many, the quintessential Tank, and for good reason. While the most classic expression of this famous watch involves blued hands, Roman numerals and a railroad track, it’s far from the only twist on this time-honored design. In recent years, we’ve seen a renewed interest and vigor in the line, thanks to a revival of pared- back, monochromatic models that pay tribute to the Tank Must models of the 1970s. Les Must de Cartier was what we would call a diffusion line today, offering everything from accessories to art de vivre and, of course, watches. These watches were known as the Cartier Tank Vermeil, a colorful, typically quartz-powered watch with a Tank Louis Cartier-style plated case. They were a hit at the time, and more recently they’ve served as inspiration for a new generation of colorful takes on the Tank Louis Cartier. A few years ago, Cartier released a trio of quartz Tanks with minimalist blue, green and burgundy dials, and they hit a nerve, demonstrating in a very real way that there was plenty of fun left in this iconic case shape.

A portrait of Louis Cartier

This year, Cartier continued delivering on this theme with a series of sleek new precious-metal Tank Louis Cartier models. There were some dazzling pieces with ingenious tri- gold dials, as well as yellow gold models in bordeaux lacquer and green lacquer. The combination of a classically sized yellow gold case and mesmerizing, minimal colored dials on matching leather straps, is incredible. The effect is such that in the right setting, it appears that the glittering golden lines of the Tank Louis Cartier case are simply floating in the air. The Tank Louis Cartier bears his name for the purity and simplicity of the case. These watches take that a step further, removing any extraneous dial details, creating some of the most compelling examples of the Tank Louis Cartier we’ve seen in some time.

Tank Louis Cartier

Tech Specs

Cartier Tank Louis Cartier

Movement: Manual-winding caliber 1917 MC; 38-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours and minutes
Case: 33.7mm x 25.5mm; yellow gold
Strap: Alligator leather

Once upon a time in Américaine

Tank Américaine

One of the more recent additions to the Cartier Tank family was the Tank Américaine. First designed in 1987, this watch is a curved take on the Tank, with broad brancards and a bold, perhaps even brash, energy. Pierre Rainero explains the genesis of this modern, masculine take on the Tank: “I remember it perfectly, because I was already at Cartier. The idea was to work on a bigger volume. Don’t forget that the Pasha was launched in 1985, so we have recent experience already with bigger sizes. A larger Tank allowed for explorations around a more readable dial, and playing with the notion of strength that was linked with the size of the watch. Of course, it had to be in line with what Tank was. There was a predecessor to the Tank Américaine, which was the Tank Cintrée, from the beginning of the 1920s. Naturally, watches from that time were not waterproof, and it was only a hand-wound mechanical movement. So we wanted all the qualities of a modern watch — it had to have water resistance and an automatic movement, at least for the bigger models. This meant we had to modify the case, as the automatic movement was not as small as a hand-wound movement. It was a lot of work to achieve a volume that was compatible with our new demands for a watch that was for modern times, but also faithful to our notion of elegance. That was the idea behind the Tank Américaine.”

An exemplary Tank Cintrée Wristwatch from 1924 (Image: Cartier)

In the years since 1987, Cartier has produced many different interpretations of this larger Tank, continually evolving and iterating on the familiar lines. The most recent update sees the Tank Américaine once again revisit the fundamentals, the spirit of “nothing too much”. The 2023 Tank Américaine comes in three sizes — mini, small and large — and with pink gold and steel cases. The smaller versions can come with optional diamonds and bracelet options, and, should be looking for a truly extravagant option, there’s a mini white gold model on bracelet that’s fully set with stones. These smaller sizes offer an elegance all their own, but it’s the larger model, with its automatic 1899 MC caliber that is in the spirit of the ’87 original. The large size is quite substantial too, measuring 44.4mm from top to bottom and 24.4mm across. Having said that, it’s actually slimmer than its predecessor, at only 8.6mm tall. This has a significant impact on the wrist, and ensures both presence and wearability. Beyond that, there’s been plenty of other small, subtle tweaks: sleeker lines, better ergonomics, the shaving of a fraction of a millimeter here and there. It might not seem like a lot, but the overall effect, in person and on the wrist, is significant. These changes are all there to accentuate the curve of the watch, the feeling of flow and drape around the wrist that is so central to the identity of this watch. It’s an impressive and cohesive update, and one that, like so many of Cartier’s creations, feels both contemporary and classic.

Tank Américaine

One aspect of the identity of the Américaine that has always been intriguing is the name itself. In the 1980s, the Américaine was, essentially, a new design, albeit one heavily informed by the Maison’s significant archive. So, what makes the Américaine American? Rainero explains: “Well, there’s the saying, ‘everything is bigger in America’, which is fitting. Also, don’t forget the popularity of the Tank started at the First World War with General John J. Pershing wearing a Cartier Tank. That was a link to this story from the very beginning of Tank, so that was the idea at the beginning, as well as to pay tribute to our American clientele.”

Tech Specs

Cartier Tank Américaine

Movement: Quartz (mini and small); self-winding caliber 1899 MC (large)
Functions: Hours and minutes
Case: 28mm x 15.2mm x 6.5mm (mini); 35.4mm x 19.4mm x 6.8mm (small); 44.4mm x 24.4mm x 8.6mm (large); stainless steel and rose gold; mini also offered in white gold; diamond options available for mini and small models
Strap: Alligator strap; mini and small also offered with bracelets

Française new wave

The Tank Française in steel

Another more recent addition to the extended Tank family was the Française, which burst onto the scene back in 1996. Unsurprisingly, it was a hit. Pierre Rainero explains the concept behind this angular option: “It was the idea of a perception of a very well-balanced square. The square is very strong in French culture. When we first introduced it in 1996, I remember that idea of the square in French urbanism or architecture was a point of reference. The Tank Française also takes the idea of a Tank Normale, that square dial in a rectangular case. So, that’s how it was born, in a very natural way.”

If the genesis of this design was rooted in Cartier’s own history and French civic culture, the reception to this model, according to Rainero, had help from a decidedly non-French fan. “The Tank Française was well received, and of all the models, there were two in particular that were the center of attention. A small model in gold with a gold bracelet that was a hit, I think, for many women. The fact that Lady Diana [wore one], for instance, was a very good point for that model. Also, the automatic model in steel, or in steel and gold, was very well received especially for men at the time.”

Cartier Tank Française

For many, that first generation of Tank Française will forever be associated with Lady Diana, so you can’t help but wonder what the most recent update, released earlier this year, will be famous for. Staying close to the spirit of the original, these Tanks are offered in steel or yellow gold, and feature a range of incremental design improvements intended to make this latest Tank Française a better fit on the wrist, and more robust. Of course, it’s only fitting that Cartier enlisted the help of renowned actor Rami Malek, along with Catherine Deneuve, legend of the French New Wave, to tell the story of the Tank Française.

Tech Specs

Cartier Tank Française

Movement: Quartz (small and medium); self-winding caliber 1853 (large), 37-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours and minutes (small and medium); hours, minutes, seconds and date (large)
Case: 25.7mm x 21.2mm x 6.70mm (small); 32mm x 27mm x 7.08mm (medium); 36.7mm x 30.5mm x 10.12mm (large); steel or yellow gold, with diamond options (small and medium); steel (large); water resistant to 30m
Strap: Matching steel or yellow gold bracelet

Cartier and the culture of design

Though the original design of the Cartier Tank is incredibly simple, it’s also far from prescriptive, as you can see from the numerous design variations and iterations that Cartier has conjured up over the years. The Américaine, the Française and all the other variants of this idealized rectangle are all remarkably different, while still holding true to the core tenets of the Tank design language. This, as we have said, is the mark of a design that defines a genre and has a cultural impact that goes well beyond the world of fine timekeeping.

The clear geometry of the Tank Française are accentuated in gold

The legacy of the Cartier Tank also brings in a unique perspective when it comes to creating new versions. Namely, Cartier doesn’t follow trends, at least not trends when it comes to watches. Pierre Rainero explains, “At Cartier, the idea of taking into account what is happening in the ‘market’ is not a strong preoccupation because our culture — in terms of product design and creation — is very specific. When we decide to work on a new design, it’s more a question of feeling rather than calculation or following a trend. In fact, Cartier is in such a specific position in watchmaking because of our very different design. We are used to following our own path. For instance, the Pasha. We decided to launch it in 1985, and of course, the process started earlier; the so-called trend for big watches did not exist yet, so it’s not that we were following an existing trend.”

Of course, Rainero is quick to assert that while Cartier’s watch design is not the result of painstaking market analysis, it does exist within the real world and acts accordingly. “At Cartier, we’re not immune to what’s going on around us. So maybe there’s a shared global taste, so influence can come from outside — not necessarily from watchmaking, but from global culture. We are part of a global vision that is shared by many other people at the same time.”

Even the clean lines of the flank embody Cartier’s preoccupation with simplicity

Naturally, having the incumbent position when it comes to elegance timekeeping helps, especially when the pendulum of taste swings from large back to more manageable sizes. “Recently, there’s been incredibly strong interest in our creations in the more traditional sizes. For example, look at this year, with the Tank Normale. Again, the eyes of the public are turning to the elegance of a smaller watch. I don’t know if Cartier creates that interest or if the wider context is once again ready to accept those shapes. It’s that old saying, what came first, the chicken or the egg?”

A global maison

One aspect of Cartier’s long history that is quite unique is the three founding boutiques that play a huge role in the history and development of the brand. Located in Paris, London and New York, Cartier calls them “The Temples”. For Rainero, this shared history and divided geography have been formative to the Maison’s evolving identity.

Paris, London, New York. Three founding boutiques. Three legendary locations that saw Cartier open up to the world and lay the foundations for what was to become one of the finest adventures of the century (Image: Cartier)

“When you look at the production of Cartier watches, it’s very interesting to see variations that took place in New York or London. As you know, since the beginning, the design for watchmaking was born in Paris, and it was a success in all locations. For practical reasons, we sent movements on the one hand and the cases on the other hand to our London and New York locations.” However, what began as a practicality of business in a pre-globalized time had some unexpected benefits.

“At the time, it gave freedom for the London staff and the New York staff to create their own cases, and with a movement that we’ve sent from Paris, and we see some creations in New York and in London. The most well- known example is the period of the late ’60s and early ’70s in London. It’s interesting to see how there was a sort of playfulness in London on the basis of the shapes that were created in Paris. It was like Cartier was playing with its own iconic designs: that was how the Crash watch was born — a very pure oval shape, but crashed. That was how the Pebble was born, the square dial, placed in a lozenge position within a circle. Someone would play with the aesthetic vocabulary of Cartier watches to propose something different. Many observers made a link between that period in London, famous for its culture and activity at the time, and the spirit that took place at Cartier at that time. In America, there were variations on some models, but mainly with our jewelry watches. These three locations helped build an entire part of our own culture of design because, of course, the London designs are part of our contemporary culture today, and probably it added that notion of playfulness with shapes.”

The Mansion (Image: Cartier)

That was then, and this is now. Today the world is a very different place, and infinitely more interconnected. This begs the question: can the sort of organically emerging regional design language that emerged within Cartier’s London location exist in a more corporate era? According to Rainero, the Maison has changed, while still celebrating that core identity: “The world is different now. Our company is centralized because we don’t have the same problems that existed then, in terms of customs, transportation or whatever else, so it’s easier. In terms of design, everything is centralized in Paris, but thanks to different factors, including the history that we [have] in New York and London, [it has] helped to mature our way of looking at new designs. On top of that, the nationality of our designers is important. We don’t only have French designers. There’s a mix of cultures at the origin of a design. I think we always have an eye on what is going on everywhere. Beyond that, access is easier. Even without looking actively, everyone is exposed to what’s going on in terms of art, architecture and day-to-day life, everywhere in the world. There’s a tradition at Cartier to be curious about what’s going on outside Cartier and outside France. We have that natural tendency to look at what’s going on within the culture of design. We are not influenced in our own fields of jewelry or watchmaking; we’re influenced by other artistic expressions. Finally, we always take into account the final destination of our creations. It’s important to understand how people will live with these objects. This is key.”

The Cartier Tank is far from an accidental icon. Its success is due in no small part to the continual consideration and care that Cartier has put into shepherding its legacy through the generations that ensure it is as relevant today as it was 50 or 100 years ago.

The culture of Cartier in Australia

The relationship between Cartier and Australia dates back a surprisingly long time, with opera singer Dame Nellie Melba becoming a loyal client of the Maison back in 1901, and kangaroos showing up as ornamental objects in 1905. However, it took a little longer for Cartier’s presence to be felt in Australia — the Maison exhibited high jewelry in Melbourne in 1959, and in 1975, the first Cartier point of sale opened in Sydney. But, as Sydney’s new flagship boutique demonstrates, Australia has been making up for lost time, and Cartier is embracing the arts, culture and people of Australia.

Images of Cartier’s 388 George Street location in Sydney

Located at 388 George Street, the curving, sinuous facade of the boutique glistens in champagne hues, much like the precious jewels that can be found within. While the overall design and vision for this space have been overseen by the Parisian firm Moinard Bétaille, who have been working with Cartier to express their identity for 20 years. The 388 George Street location is an exuberant celebration of Australian artistic expression and French design, which is perfectly in keeping with Cartier’s values of preserving and celebrating artistic crafts from across the globe. It’s hard to miss the crystal quartz chandeliers, designed by Melbourne industrial designer Christopher Boots. Throughout the space, there are recurring custom patina finishes — with eucalyptus-inspired motifs — designed and executed by Australian creative studio Di Emme. Carpets, couches and side tables are designed and made by local businesses too. But one of the most stunning features (and in a space like this, decked out in hand-painted silks, that’s a big call), is the large weaving wall, created by Bula’bula artists from a community-owned indigenous arts center in Ramingining, in east Arnhem Land. This woven textile technique has been passed down as storytelling for over 60,000 years and is created from hand-dyed pandanus leaves. This work, which is the largest created by Bula’bula artists, required the work of five master weavers and assistance from an additional eight weavers. It’s remarkable that different families have distinct weaving techniques, allowing for individual identity within the larger work.

The Manapan designers working on the weaving wall

Of course, Cartier’s support for the Australian community extends beyond the world of artistic expression, as evidenced by Red Club x Cartier, a global membership community of multicultural social entrepreneurs established by Cartier in 2019. The 2024 edition of the Young Leader is being hosted by the Southeast Asia and Oceania chapter of Red Club, with the theme of “Tech for a Sustainable Future”, aiming to shine a light on youth-led, technology-driven solutions that aim to sustainably shape the world for a better future.

The world of Cartier encompasses timepieces like the Tank, but the Maison, and the culture it supports and creates is just as important, and equally timeless.

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FROM THE SHOP

Furlan Marri

Limited Edition

Furlan Marri x Auro x Revo - Flyback Chronographs 3188-A ‘Salmon Flyback

$3,175.00

TECH SPECS

Movement	Manual winding Sellita caliber AMT5100, with rose gold plating and custom bridge for Furlan Marri; 58-hour power reserve; heated blued steel screws
Functions	Hours, minutes, small seconds and flyback chronograph
Case	38mm (46mm from lug to lug); stainless steel with olive-shaped pushers for Honey Blue flyback, Taupe flyback and Tasti Tondi pushers for Salmon flyback; water resistant to 50m
Dial	Taupe, blue, or two-tone salmon and black (Revolution edition); double printed text with pulsations scale, polished applied indexes
Strap	Italian leather with quick release system
Limited Edition	270 pieces per reference + 30 collector boxes (including one of each references) in addition.

The post Cartier’s Tank: An Icon from Américaine to Française appeared first on Revolution Watch.

A Collector’s Guide: The Cartier Crash

Cheryl Chia — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 13:30:37 +0000

A Collector’s Guide: The Cartier Crash

As the Crash becomes one of the most collectible watches on the planet today, we dissect its historical significance, explore its myriad iterations and chart its price performance over time.

News

By Cheryl Chia

Dec 22, 2023

Among all the distinctively shaped watches produced by Cartier throughout its history – the Tank, the Santos, the Tonneau, the Cintrée – nothing quite compares to the Crash. Even amidst its asymmetrical peers – the Tank Asymétrique, the Cloche, the Baignoire S – it is the most artistically unfettered, seemingly devoid of any mathematical definition – a fantastically abstract silhouette that sits astride the fine line between grace and aggression.

It is a watch whose appeal is as rooted in the sophistication of its design and the urban legend of its origin – purportedly moulded by a fatal car crash – as it is in what it represented for a dyed-in-the-wool, traditional luxury house like Cartier. It remains a vivid relic of Cartier London in the Swinging Sixties, a mythical hub with a creativity that was uniquely conditioned by the city it called home. More broadly, the Crash also serves as a reminder of a time in Cartier’s history when the production of watches was an artisanal affair. With the march of time, these strands have been deeply woven into the identity of the Crash, elevating it to one of the most coveted watches on the planet.

Today, we delve into the fascinating context in which the Crash emerged, explore its variations from the original production run in London to the present day, and the nuances that have shaped their price trends over time. We would like to extend our gratitude to the EveryWatch team for generating the graphs and charts used in this report. Their platform, which draws data from a vast database comprising over 250 auction houses and 150 marketplaces globally, has proven to be an indispensable resource.

London Calling

It was in 1902 when the maison founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier extended its reach to London. Alfred, the son of Louis-Francois Cartier, along with his three sons – Louis, Pierre and Jacques – had hatched a plan for global domination. Their foresight, predating the ease of modern travel, aimed to position Cartier as the jeweller of choice for royalty and the world’s elite, regardless of their geographical location. Louis oversaw the Paris headquarters, while Pierre headed the subsidiary in New York, and Jacques, initially accompanied by his older brother Pierre in London, took charge of affairs in the English capital.

Alfred Cartier and his three sons in 1922. From left: Pierre, Louis, Alfred and Jacques. (Image: Cartier)

Pierre shared a special bond with the Royal court as the Prince of Wales, who would later become King Edward VII, had been a loyal patron of Cartier on rue de la Paix in Paris. He affectionately dubbed it “the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers.” However, following the passing of his mother, Queen Victoria, in 1901, royal protocol prevented him from making the cross-channel shopping trips he had once enjoyed. He placed an order for 27 tiaras for his coronation, which Cartier could now fulfil more conveniently at the new London outpost, and issued a Royal Warrant of appointment to the jeweller.

Just two years after setting up shop in London, Cartier would receive a Royal Warrant from King Edward VII on March 10th, 1904. King Edward would famously call Cartier the "jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers". (image: Cartier)

Jacques would eventually move the store from 4 New Burlington Street to its present location at 175-177 New Bond Street in 1909, just a few years after his older brother Louis in Paris had designed the Santos Dumont watch for his aviator friend Alberto Santos-Dumont. Most intriguingly, the new storefront boasting five storeys was more than just a retail space; it was a full-fledged workshop with the ability to conceive and produce its creations independently. Jacques had established the English Art Works workshop in 1921, putting together a workforce made up of local goldsmiths, jewellers, and various skilled artisans. Cartier relied on the senior craftsmen to train the younger generation, with each initiate beginning their journey as an apprentice, enduring a rigorous six-year training period before assuming their roles as full-time employees.

Left to right: Cartier London flagship at 175-176 Bond Street in the early 1900s before it acquired No. 177 on its left; The English Artworks workshop seen here in 1930 was the engine that produced watch and jewelry works of art for Cartier London. (images: Cartier)

Adding to the historical significance of the boutique, during the Second World War, after an unsuccessful attempt to secure protected status for its jewellery craftsmen, the workshop underwent a dramatic transformation, pivoting from its customary craft of fashioning maharajas’ necklaces and coronation tiaras to the production and repair of military instruments such as gauges and compasses. At one point, it even became the office of General Charles de Gaulle who had sought refuge in London to evade Nazi-occupied France.

Post-war London in the 1950s was characterized by restraint, with echoes of wartime rationing and conservative social norms. However, as the 1960s came into view, a seismic cultural shift began to shake things up. This was the era of the Swinging Sixties, where a dynamic youth culture, economic prosperity, and a thirst for personal freedom converged to create an unforgettable wave of change in the heart of London. By that time, Jean-Jacques, the son of Jacques Cartier, had completed an apprenticeship in the Paris branch under Charles Jacqueau, Cartier’s top designer. Jean-Jacques took charge of the London operations and focused on expanding its watch offerings. Among the three branches, Cartier London holds such mystique as it took on a life of its own, mirroring the city’s intricate tapestry of cultural, social, and artistic transformations. The Baignoire Allongèe, the Pebble and the Asymétrique all emerged from the London boutique. But its most striking creation was the Crash in 1967.

The Birth of the Crash

Until recently, the genesis of the Crash was shrouded in mystery. The lack of official records gave rise to many bewitching tales. Some believed its design was inspired by the melting clocks in Salvador Dali’s surrealist masterpiece, “The Persistence of Memory” while a more widely circulated narrative was that it was born from a Cartier Maxi Oval (Baignoire Allongée), which underwent dramatic distortion in the scorching aftermath of a car crash.

The truth was more sober but nevertheless fascinating. According to Francesca Cartier Brickell, the granddaughter of Jean-Jacques Cartier and the author of The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire, was that the Maxi Oval indeed served as a jumping off point. But in hopes of capturing the spirit of the psychedelic era, Jean-Jacques and designer Rupert Emmerson pushed the boundaries of Cartier’s visual identity in ways that were so utterly out of step with anything Cartier had ever done before.

Francesca Cartier Brickell, granddaughter of Jean-Jacques Cartier tells the comprehensive story of her family in her book - The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire

Cartier Brickell wrote, “The reality was that the 1960s were a time of nonconform-ism in London. Several loyal clients, including the actor Stewart Granger, had been demanding a watch “unlike any other.” Jean-Jacques, who worked closely with the designer Rupert Emmerson on watches and cases, discussed with him how they might try adjusting the popular Maxi Oval design to look as though it had been in a crash “by pinching the ends at a point and putting a kink in the middle.”

Interestingly, Emmerson pitched various versions of the proposed concept to Jean-Jacques at their following meeting. He even included one design featuring a dial with a cracked appearance to emphasize the crash theme, although this suggestion was too much for Jean-Jacques. While he was open to innovation, Jean-Jacques believed that the end product should remain an aesthetically pleasing object. Therefore, Emmerson was advised to dial back some aspects of the design, leading to the abandonment of the cracked dial idea.

After finalising the design, they sought advice from Jaeger-LeCoultre to determine the most suitable movement. The case was entrusted to the craftsmen at the Wright & Davies workshop in East London where gold sheets were manipulated by hand into the asymmetrical case – there was no mould. It was subsequently finished by hand by jewellers. Cartier Brickell notes that crafting a standard watch case typically required thirty-five hours of labor, but this unique creation, with its unconventional curves, marked a significant departure from the typical rectangular, square, and oval models, demanding a considerably longer production timeline. The dial, on the other hand, was painted by hand by Rupert Emmerson.

Once they were completed, they were forwarded to Cartier London’s head watchmaker, Eric Denton. During the assembly process, they came to realise that designing the dial was a more high-wire act than that. As the gears that make up every mechanical watch are by nature circular and the hands are straight, it was a significant challenge to accurately position the distorted Roman numerals on the irregular dial for accurate time reading.

As a result, they had to take the watch apart and repaint the dial multiple times. Cartier Brickell wrote, “ For all the enormous work involved, the Crash watches did not make the firm huge profits. The first one was sold for around $1,000 (approximately $7,500 today).” Due to the artisanal nature of the Crash, it was never produced in large numbers.

By the time the Crash was born, Claude Cartier, the son of Louis had already sold the New York branch, with Marion Cartier Claude, the daughter of Pierre selling the Paris business a year later in 1968, making London the last of the three Cartier boutiques that was still being run by a family member until 1974.

London Crash (1967 to 1990s)

The London Crash of 1967

The initial Crash watch stood out not just for its distinctive design but also its bold dimensions. Produced in yellow gold, the Crash measured 43mm in length and 25mm (23 excluding crown) in width, making it larger than the majority of Cartier models, including most of the subsequent Crash watches. It was powered by the Jaeger-LeCoultre cal. 841, a small tonneau-shaped movement. It is believed that no more than a few dozen examples of the London Crash were made in total.

To date, the London Crash has surfaced just 17 times at auction with the highest selling instance being a 1967 example, which sold for a US$1.5 mil on Loupe This in 2022. From 1991 until 2012, it was selling for between US$16,530 to US$41,500, rising slightly in the following years before skyrocketing in 2021. Naturally, the London Crash represents the most valuable Crash watches today. But due to their extreme rarity, sporadic appearances and the high demand from collectors, establishing a stable market value is challenging.

Although the majority of London Crash watches were made in yellow gold, variations exist in other metals as well. A white gold London Crash appeared at Antiquorum in 1991 while two platinum examples have surfaced at Christie’s in 2017 and Pandolfini in 2021 respectively – the 1992 example at Christie’s was later withdrawn while the 1991 specimen sold for a whopping US$974,333. According to Cartier, the first platinum London Crash was produced in 1980. While the production of the Crash was later centralised in Paris, London Crash watches continued to be produced in London until the early 1990s due to pending orders. Notably, examples made from 1990 onwards have a completely different typeface for the “London” script which gave the watch a distinctly bolder character.

Giovanni Prigigallo, co-founder of EveryWatch highlights, “The London Crash, while highly valuable and a top performer today, has a higher unsold rate compared to subsequent models. This phenomenon could potentially be attributed to an initial lack of awareness and appreciation, stemming from the scarcity of information available about them at the time.”

Paris Crash (1991 onwards)

A Crash from the 400-piece 1991 limited edition that had 'Paris' on the dial instead of 'London' and only came in yellow gold. (image: Sotheby's)

In 1991, Cartier Paris introduced the Crash in a limited edition of 400 pieces in a smaller yellow gold case, measuring 38.5mm by 22.5mm with the word “Paris” at six instead of “London.” Additionally, the Cartier secret signature was incorporated in the numeral VII where the word “Cartier” is written in delicate capital letters.

In the following years, custom orders were produced in various metals including pink gold, white gold and platinum. The next limited edition was released in 1997 when the brand celebrated the re-opening of its flagship store at 13 Rue de la Paix. During the 1990s, Cartier also made market-specific limited editions such as a 40-piece pink gold version with burgundy numerals for the Hong Kong market.

To date, the Paris Crash in yellow gold has emerged 42 times at auction since 1996, making it the most prevalent version. The platinum model in contrast has surfaced only 10 times. Aside from its initial auction debut in 2006, the platinum edition has consistently commanded a higher price than its yellow gold counterpart. Furthermore, this divergence has steadily increased over time, culminating in this year’s sale of a 1992 platinum example at US$353,368 during Phillips’ Geneva Auction XVII in May. The yellow gold in comparison reached its peak at US$304,700 in May 2022 and last sold for US$270,869, settling around a median price of roughly US$220,000 as of 2023.

“The Paris Crash in platinum demonstrates impressive growth, comparable to the London version, and is relatively rare, suggesting potential for further market expansion from its latest sale in 2023,” says Prigigallo.

A 1992 platinum example fetched US$353,368 at Phillips Geneva Watch Auction XVII in May (Image: Phillips)

Somewhere between the late 1990s and the new millennium, the word “Paris” was removed from the dial, and in its place, the inscription “made in France” was introduced along the edge. Over the years, a platinum example from 2002 with a custom burgundy dial has appeared at auction on three separate occasions. It last sold for US$51,141 in 2010. Crash watches bearing the “made in France” marking are predominantly discovered in pink gold, although it was also produced in other colours of gold. The most recent sale garnered US$224,714 at Sotheby’s in October 2022.

A 2005 example in yellow gold without "Paris" at six. (Image: Cartier)

Crash Diamonds (1990s to present)

Throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, Cartier introduced diamond-set versions in the same 38.5mm by 22.5mm dimensions, beginning with yellow gold. The watch featured three rows of pavé set diamonds and a beaded crown set with a brilliant-cut diamond.

This was later followed by 50-piece white gold limited edition that was launched for yet another re-opening of 13 rue de la Paix in 2005. In between, diamond Crashes were produced as a special order in small quantities in all three colours of gold as well as platinum.

A diamond-set Paris Crash in yellow gold (Image: Cartier)

It is worth noting that Cartier presented an alternative interpretation of a distorted Maxi Oval in 2009 with the Baignoire S. It bore a resemblance to the original Crash but had an elongated S shape with numerals that were even more dramatically skewed. Its dimensions were also bolder at 48 mm by 22 mm, providing the stage its design needed.

Another distorted interpretation of the Maxi Oval, the Crash Baignoire S (Image: Monaco Legend Auctions)

In 2013, Cartier unveiled the first Crash on a metal bracelet in both pink and white gold, each limited to 267 pieces. Additionally, there were diamond bracelet variations in both metals, with each of these limited to just 67 pieces.

The limited edition diamond-set Crash with a tear-drop link bracelet launched in 2013 (Image: Cartier)

To date, the diamond-set Crash watches have emerged 52 times at auction. Interestingly, within the realm of diamond-set Crash watches, value is determined more by objective attributes than by their production year, diverging from the valuation dynamics observed across the sans-diamonds versions. While the idea of a gendered watch is increasingly antiquated, the Crash Diamonds, due to its dimensions and presence of diamonds, is quite squarely a ladies’ watch. As such, the trend might suggest that female buyers have a different and arguably more practical set of priorities when it comes to Crash collecting.

Diamond-set white and yellow gold examples from the 1990s to the early 2000s reached a pinnacle of US$192,635 at Christie’s in May 2022 but it has since experienced a substantial dip, going for US$105,119 at Christie’s in November, notably falling behind the 2013 bracelet version, which fetched US$153,928 the same month.

Meanwhile, the absence of platinum examples is noteworthy. Examples featuring pink diamonds are extremely rare, having surfaced only twice at auction – once at Christie’s in 2015, and more recently at Sotheby’s in October, fetching a price of US$137,839.

A pink gold specimen set with pink diamonds, circa 2001 (Image: Sotheby's)

Prigigallo asserts, “Today, apart from the metal bracelet version, all diamond Crash watches, including special and colourful editions, exhibit modest performance. Nevertheless, they maintain a lower-than-average unsold rate, indicating a level of appreciation among collectors.”

Crash Skeleton (2015 and 2016)

The limited edition Crash Skeleton in platinum launched in 2015, and later in pink gold and platinum adorned with diamonds in 2016

Then in 2015 came the first skeleton model in platinum followed by pink gold and a diamond-encrusted platinum version in 2016, each limited to 67 pieces. The case measured 45.32 mm by 28.15 mm, making it larger than the Crash watches that came before. Most notably, the Crash Skeleton remains the only Crash with a truly shaped movement with its bridges skeletonised to form Roman numerals. The calibre 9618, designed by Carole-Forestier Kasapi, is remarkably impressive. It makes the most of the Crash’s unusual shape by incorporating serially coupled double barrels, along with a vertically aligned gear train that follows the contours of the case, ending with a 4Hz balance wheel at the tip.

To date, only two gold examples have surfaced at auction. It first appeared in 2019, fetching US$50,000 at Christie’s, before doubling in 2020 to US$104,041 at Phillips. Similarly, diamond-set platinum examples have made two appearances at auction, fetching US$136,312 at Christie’s in 2017, before nearly doubling to US$224,741 in 2022. The platinum version without diamonds made its first appearance this year, fetching a whopping US$279,400 at Phillips’ New York. In comparison to other Crash models, the Crash Skeleton is the least typical and most mechanically sophisticated variation of the Crash, explaining its high demand despite being modern models.

2017 to Present

In 2017, Cartier introduced the Crash Radieuse as part of the Cartier Libre collection. What sets the Radieuse apart was how it played up the Crash’s apocryphal tumultuous origins. In place of distorted numerals, the dial was adorned with black lacquer, forming the striking motif of shockwaves, harmoniously complemented by a grooved case that echoed this design. It was produced in pink gold and was limited to just 50 pieces. The Radieuse made its first appearance at auction in 2019, commanding a price of US$44,720 at Phillips. Within a brief two-year interval, its value surged, reaching a staggering US$104,648 when it was sold at Christie’s in 2021. Due to its distinctive case and dial, the absence of diamonds and its large dimensions of 42mm by 23.3mm despite being a part of a jewellery watch collection, it has strong mass appeal and still holds robust potential.

The 50-piece limited edition Crash Radieuse launched in 2017

That year also saw the introduction of two limited edition platinum Skeleton watches – one adorned with blue sapphires and the other, with diamonds and rubies. In the following year, a full ruby version joined the line-up.

The limited edition Crash Skeleton in three striking gem-set iterations: blue sapphires, diamonds and rubies (2017) and one entirely adorned with rubies (2018)

In 2019, to mark the re-opening of the New Bond Street boutique in London, Cartier reissued a yellow gold Crash as well as a white gold diamond-set version, both in slightly larger dimensions than the original London Crash and identical to that of the Crash Skeleton, measuring 45.32mm by 28.15mm. The yellow gold Crash is limited to one piece a month while the diamond-set Crash is limited to 15 pieces. They were followed by a limited production platinum version this year, all of which are exclusive to the New Bond Street boutique.

Two yellow gold specimens have surfaced at auction so far, initially selling for US$96,767 at Phillips Hong Kong in 2020 before more than doubling a year later to US$199,132 at Phillips Geneva. Prigigallo says, “Despite being a newer model, the New Bond Street Crash shows strong performance and potential for growth, making it a promising market opportunity.”

The New Bond Street exclusive in yellow gold (limited production), white gold set with diamonds (limited to 15 pieces and platinum (limited production)

In 2019, Cartier introduced a trio of platinum Skeleton models set with coloured gemstones – yellow diamonds, pink sapphires and a third variant with a combination of diamonds and emeralds.

Limited edition platinum Skeleton models with exuberant gem-setting launched in 2019

Last year, Cartier unveiled the Crash Tigrée, the most extravagant and captivating version of the Crash. Limited to 50 pieces, this version melds the art of gem-setting and enamelling to produce an abstract, Rorschach-esque visual effect that evokes a variety of interpretations such as a tiger, a crocodile, a meandering river, or a psychedelic tribute to the Swinging Sixties, depending on one’s perspective. The Tigrée made its auction debut recently in October, fetching US$210,813 at Sotheby’s.

Crash Tigrée

Overview

The years spanning from 2007 to 2014 since the Crash Diamonds started surfacing at auction shows an intriguing narrative. Until 2014, the Crash Diamond commanded more than a London Crash and until 2019, more than a Paris Crash. For instance, in 2012 a London Crash sold for US$43,750 while a white gold diamond Crash fetched a sum of US$72,258 in the same year. This demonstrates that the Crash models were initially assessed based on their material value rather than historical significance.

However, a new wind began to blow in 2014, perhaps due to the relaunch of the Crash as a ladies diamond-set watch with bracelet in 2013, which ignited collectors’ interest in the original watch. Additionally, by that time, independent watchmaking had spawned some of the most radical designs to come down the pike, fuelling a broader shift in the perception of creative boundaries. Under that angle, the Crash would have seemed like the perfect middle ground, encompassing both a spirit of rebellion and a classical elegance.

The London Crash achieved a price of US$130,609 at Christie’s in 2014 and subsequently increased to US$175,000 in 2017 when it was sold at Phillips. However, the next time the London Crash emerged in 2019, it saw a significant dip, dropping to $105,109, which deviated from the upward price trend. This decline can be attributed to factors such as its later, 1990 production year, and the differences in dial graphics that the very last London Crashes entailed.

The London Crash surpassed the US$200,000 mark in the following year before the onset of the pandemic era. As mentioned earlier, a 1991 platinum example achieved a remarkable price of US$974,333 in 2021. Last year, four examples of the London Crash emerged. Among them, the first was a splendid 1967 specimen that set a record for the Crash, selling for US$1,513,888 on LoupeThis. The second was a 1990 example, which garnered US$825,029 at Christie’s and the third, a piece from 1989 sold for US$717,363. In contrast, the fourth, a 1970 example, fetched a considerably lower price of US$453,600 despite it being an early example. This was likely due to authenticity concerns raised by Perezscope prior to the auction.

Over the span of 1996 to 2018, the price set of the Paris Crash witnessed a gradual and incremental rise, inching up from approximately US$24,000 to around US$45,000. Prior to 2015, London and Paris Crash watches were trading at similar price points. However, a noticeable divergence began to manifest in 2014/2015 and the gap only widen with time.

This could be due to the reintroduction of the Crash as a ladies’ watch on bracelet, as mentioned earlier, which sparked greater attention and awareness around the original London production as well as the Paris Crash having more demure dimensions that rendered it a better fit for women. In fact, once the large Crash Skeleton (diamond-set) made its appearance on the market in 2017, it swiftly and significantly outperformed the Paris Crash.

The Paris Crash only started its upward trajectory in 2019, and in 2021 and 2022, it surpassed the US$200,000 mark, outpacing all other Crash models except for the London Crash. The sudden price increase can undoubtedly be attributed to the pandemic while its overtaking of other Crash models is probably a result of the London Crash watches being scarce and increasingly unattainable. Fast forward to 2023, the Crash Skeleton has yet again overtaken the Paris Crash. The platinum Crash Skeleton achieved a price of US$279,400 at Phillips in June, whereas the median price for the Paris Crash fell slightly to US$192,746. However, for a direct metal-to-metal comparison, a platinum Paris Crash sold for US$353,368 at Phillips in May. This suggest that the Crash Skeleton is appropriately recognized and valued for its unique mechanical and aesthetic attributes while the Paris Crash has gained broader acceptance and is seen as a compelling alternative to the London Crash despite its smaller dimensions.

Interestingly, the Crash Diamonds in general did not undergo as dramatic a price hike during the pandemic and has stabilized at approximately US$137,000 today. This pricing differential, considerably lower than the London and Paris Crash (sans diamonds), seems to have solidified a new normal, even though it has the exact same dimensions as the Paris Crash and possesses intrinsic higher value. This suggests a heightened awareness regarding the historical significance of the London Crash, with the Paris Crash riding on its coattails albeit still trailing significantly behind, trading at nearly a quarter of London’s present-day valuation. However, to put things into perspective, the present valuation of the Crash Diamonds, while lower than other Crash watches, is similar to that of a 3970 and a 116506 “Platona”.

Summing up, Prigigallo notes, “The Crash London, Crash Paris, and Crash Skeleton models are outstanding performers, while the Diamonds and Radieuse models demonstrate relatively lower performance but their potential for market growth is noteworthy.”

On the whole, the dataset paints a picture of how a watch that started out as a niche curiosity rose to become an institution onto itself. This evolution parallels the growing neutrality and furthermore appreciation towards shaped watches, influenced by the expanding presence of concept- and design-led watchmaking since the 2000s. It also aligns with the broader trend of increased interest in vintage Cartier collecting. The Cheich, for instance, is a million dollar watch while the Pebble and Maxi Oval are trailing not far behind the Crash.

As with many other watches on the auction market, the question of whether it is worth it hangs in the air but the Crash is indeed one of the rare instances of watch design that is deeply rooted in its era yet astonishingly transcendent of it. Demand for it ultimately seems only as robust as its rarity, historical significance, as well as the fact that unlike the usual suspects on the market, there is truly no substitute for it even 56 years on.

The full data report by EveryWatch will soon be available for download.

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FROM THE SHOP

Furlan Marri

Limited Edition

Furlan Marri x Auro x Revo - Flyback Chronographs 3188-A ‘Salmon Flyback

$3,175.00

TECH SPECS

Movement	Manual winding Sellita caliber AMT5100, with rose gold plating and custom bridge for Furlan Marri; 58-hour power reserve; heated blued steel screws
Functions	Hours, minutes, small seconds and flyback chronograph
Case	38mm (46mm from lug to lug); stainless steel with olive-shaped pushers for Honey Blue flyback, Taupe flyback and Tasti Tondi pushers for Salmon flyback; water resistant to 50m
Dial	Taupe, blue, or two-tone salmon and black (Revolution edition); double printed text with pulsations scale, polished applied indexes
Strap	Italian leather with quick release system
Limited Edition	270 pieces per reference + 30 collector boxes (including one of each references) in addition.

The post A Collector’s Guide: The Cartier Crash appeared first on Revolution Watch.

Show and Tell with the Cartier Santos-Dumont and Tank

Celine Yap — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 08:00:24 +0000

Show and Tell with the Cartier Santos-Dumont and Tank

Taking its signature classics onward and upward, Cartier offers distinct heritage in multitudes.

Feature

By Celine Yap

Nov 27, 2023

Jeweler, horologer, raconteur. Cartier is a maison of many specialties. In every one of these finely honed crafts, its heritage runs deep, and provides such a vast plethora of unique anecdotes and perspectives to enrich all it creates that every Cartier creation is an invitation to explore its vast universe. Much ink has already been spilled recounting the storied origins of its house icons, with entire books devoted to the singularity of their peerless pursuit of quality and sheer design ingenuity. And there will be more, because the maison continues to write its own story, curated for the connoisseurs and tailored for the times.

In the last few years, Cartier has done remarkably well to reassert and rejuvenate its signature classics. Under the astute vision of CEO Cyrille Vigneron, the manufacture grew exponentially in the luxury timepiece division, going so far as to claim the number two spot in global market share in 2021. Success came swiftly, after a series of collection revamps beginning in 2017 with the Tank’s 100th anniversary, and continuing with the Santos de Cartier in 2018, the Santos-Dumont in 2019, the Pasha in 2020, and the Tank Must in 2021. For each of these models, Cartier tasked its director of watchmaking design, Marie-Laure Cérède, to invigorate the aesthetics without veering from its core identity — and she had clearly delivered on every front.

Specifically, the new Santos de Cartier swapped out its boxy frame for a sleeker, more elegant silhouette. With fluid curves linking the case much more closely with the bracelet, this iconic watch has since become a top contender in the sports-chic timepiece category. The Santos de Cartier’s revamp also set the tone for the rejuvenation of its sister model, the Santos-Dumont, which used to be perceived as the less popular of the two Santos watches — but not anymore. The facelifted Santos-Dumont XL proposed a thinner bezel with smaller exposed screws, slightly elongated Roman numerals, and a swoonworthy ultra-thin profile that few collectors could resist, especially when Cartier sweetened the deal with a mechanical ultra- thin movement.

Of course, the maison would not neglect the Tank — its eternal icon and a watch of many faces. Beginning with a re-evaluation of the Tank Louis Cartier, Cartier established the premium status of this watch with gloriously rounded and polished brancards and a case in precious metals only. Thereafter, it reintroduced the Tank Must, which serves as the new entry-level Tank, yet offers all the trappings of a finely crafted Cartier timepiece. Most talked about was the SolarBeat movement, which brilliantly uses a perforated dial featuring cutouts in Roman numerals to allow UV light to charge up the solar panel underneath.

So it is with such a measured and methodical approach that Cartier refreshed its house icons, while retelling their individual stories to lifelong fans and new aficionados alike. Then, very naturally, these watches began to formulate their very own lexicon in haute horlogerie, which will, like all languages, continuously evolve and grow.

Up in the air: Santos-Dumont Skeleton Micro-Rotor

An ode to the origin story of how Cartier made its very first wristwatch, the Santos-Dumont bridges utility and style with a finesse of which all other aviation timepieces could only dream. By now everybody knows the story, but it’s such a good one we’ll retell it with great pleasure. In the pioneering years of aviation, Alberto Santos-Dumont contributed immensely to the endeavor. The French- Brazilian aristocrat who was living in Paris independently designed and built several airships and air flyers, entering them in important competitions and piloting all of them by himself. Time was of the essence for these events and pocket watches of the time were a major hassle for an aviator who’s trying to keep both hands on the controls and one eye on the clock.

Santos-Dumont Skeleton Micro-Rotor in yellow gold with blue lacquer

Santos-Dumont was an exceedingly dapper gentleman and well known among the Parisian elite, not least for his penchant for bussing around town in Baladeuse, his light airship which resembled a miniature blimp with a carrier underneath. He was a good friend of Louis Cartier and one evening over supper at Maxim’s — the swanky bistro of choice for all Parisian celebrities and socialites — he related the need for a practical timekeeper that would allow him to read the time easily and clearly without having to take his hands off the controls. Enthused by the challenge, Cartier produced a square-shaped timepiece cased in gold that was attached to an elegant leather strap to be worn around the wrist — and voilà, the Cartier Santos was born.

Of course, the entire process wasn’t quite so simple; the eldest Cartier brother obsessed for days on the watch, seeking a design that was practical, masculine yet elegant, as befits the immaculate style of Santos-Dumont. The final result was enduringly timeless, to say the least, and this spirit of innovation guides every Cartier watch designer to this day.

Santos-Dumont Skeleton Micro-Rotor in stainless steel

While the Santos de Cartier exudes a sports-chic appeal, the Santos-Dumont is foremost about elegance with some discreet hints to its shared aviation roots, which makes perfect sense seeing as it is named directly after the man without whom it would never come to exist, and who was known as much for his contribution to aviation history as he was for his distinctive — albeit at times quirky — sartorial choices. Whether he’s out and about town, practicing sports or taking one of his latest inventions across the sky, Alberto Santos-Dumont his diminutive five-foot-four frame was always impeccably attired. One of his favorite accessories of all time is a Panama hat; he proudly wore it crumpled after he used it to put out a small fire on the Baladeuse. You can actually see Santos-Dumont’s hat today at the Museu Paulista of São Paulo University in Brazil.

In fact, the Panama hat was such a beloved element of Santos-Dumont’s style that in 2020, Cartier paid it tribute with a limited-edition Santos-Dumont model, La Demoiselle, featuring a dial inspired by the unique color and texture of a Panama hat, and delivered with a Panama- weave strap.

And the intrepid aviator continues to inspire Cartier’s latest Santos-Dumont watches. With tongue firmly in cheek, he appears to have made a cameo appearance in the Santos-Dumont Skeleton Micro-Rotor — a watch that unites exquisite watchmaking with limitless creativity and fastidious artistry.

Indeed, skeletonization at Cartier has always been undertaken with a modern approach to aesthetics — recall past models such as the Santos de Cartier Skeleton where bridges have been etched and carved out to take the shape of Roman numerals. With the Santos-Dumont Skeleton Micro-Rotor, the same principles apply, except that Cartier has reduced the bridges even further, going for indexes rather than Roman numerals. Yet a sense of harmony prevails in the specially developed caliber 9629 MC as the openworking manages to echo the shape of the case. Most alluringly, it exposes an aperture on the bottom left that is large enough to display the entire platinum micro-rotor without so much as a sliver of obstruction. The caliber 9629 MC took Cartier almost two years to construct and comprises 212 components.

Micro-rotors in general are always a pleasure to behold — but this one is extra special, adorned with a mini Demoiselle plane designed by Santos-Dumont in 1907. As it swivels and rotates to the movements of the wrist, this little memento acts as a poetic reminder of the aviator’s innovative spirit, having designed more than 22 flying machines and making every one of those blueprints public information — all in the name of passion. The Santos- Dumont Skeleton Micro-Rotor is crafted in either rose gold or stainless steel, along with a 150-piece limited-edition model made in yellow gold with a beautiful navy-blue lacquer applied on the bezel and lugs.

Hidden gems: Santos-Dumont XL

One of Cartier’s most fabulous stories tells of how the maison came to be known as the “King of Jewelers and Jeweler of Kings”. It was none other than King Edward VII who made the proclamation about Cartier. A regular customer of the maison, the King had even suggested that the Cartier brothers should open a store in London, which they eventually did; furthermore, they fulfilled a magnificent order of 27 tiaras just in time for the King’s coronation in 1902. Thereafter King Edward VII issued a Royal Warrant to Cartier in 1904, which then attracted a stream of Royal Warrants issued by other notable aristocratic houses across Europe and the rest of the world. In modern plebeian terms, it’s like being tagged on social media by a major celebrity and suddenly gaining thousands of new followers.

Indeed, Cartier’s jewelry heritage provides a veritable fount of inspiration and ideas for the maison’s designers to this day, which creates a distinctive style that is woven into everything Cartier creates, from everyday classics to the most consummate works of haute horlogerie and haute joaillerie. It’s all in the small details: a blue or red cabochon sapphire on the crown; the signature Roman numerals; or that red-blue-green color trio, which sounds quite innocuous but that everybody knows is quintessentially Cartier, originating from the maison’s legendary Tutti Frutti jewelry.

Referencing the Tutti Frutti collection, Cartier has been creating some of its timepieces in sets of three, dressed in ruby red, sapphire blue and emerald green. The 2021 Tank Must collection espoused this vibrant color palette, combining stainless steel cases with lacquered dials. On the higher end of the horological spectrum, Cartier has also imagined its dreamily luxurious Révélation d’une Panthère timepiece in the Tutti Frutti colors, and the idea continues to take root in the latest Santos-Dumont XL collection — but with a delightful twist that resonates even more strongly with the Cartier’s DNA.

Ornamental stone indexes and lacquer painted cases join the Santos-Dumont collection

This time, Cartier presented the red-blue-green livery not with colored lacquer, but with beautiful natural ornamental stones, thus discreetly but powerfully emphasizing its strong lapidary and gem-crafting savoir-faire finely honed through the decades. As the only model in the collection powered by a mechanical movement, the Santos-Dumont XL is highly popular with watch aficionados and much loved for its refined design with elongated Roman numerals. Here, instead of black transfers, applied indexes are meticulously cut from red jasper, blue dumotierite and green jade. Each version comes with a leather strap and crown cabochon that matches the indexes — red ruby, blue sapphire and green jade. Cartier has also dedicated one precious metal for each model: red in platinum, blue in yellow gold and green in rose gold.

Perfect trinity: Tank Louis Cartier

The simplicity of its design and timelessness of its allure betray the complex nature and exquisite lore surrounding the inimitable Cartier Trinity. Some say it came about from the French artist Jean Cocteau who, after a heady evening, envisioned a jewelry piece inspired by the rings of Saturn. Others trace it back to the symbolism of Borromean rings representing strength in unity. What the true story behind its birth was, nobody really knows; but what is less ambiguous is the fact that this iconic and classic Cartier design emerged from the mind of Louis Cartier himself, in 1924, and became an instant cult accessory among the Parisian elite the moment Cocteau was seen sporting not one but two of them around his pinkie finger — a style embraced later on by none other than the Duke of Windsor, Edward VIII.

Ever the visionary, Louis Cartier had also just created the Tank watch seven years prior in 1917. He took Cartier designs from the Belle Epoque period through to the Art Nouveau and Art Deco eras. Many of his most venerated creations date from this prolific period, yet looking at all of them today, none have aged a day since the early 20th century. The Trinity ring with its white (formerly platinum), rose and yellow gold interlocking rings remain true to its original form and has come to influence a number of Cartier timepieces as well, such as the Les Must de Cartier watches of the 1970s. The Trinity’s distinctive aesthetic has recently returned to the fore, when the maison combined two Louis Cartier original creations, the Tank and the Trinity, into one elegant timepiece.

Paying tribute to the 1970s Les Must de Cartier models, the new Tank Louis Cartier collection includes two versions that offer dials featuring a Trinity-inspired design, but imbued with a contemporary spirit. In these watches, the familiar white-rose-yellow gold aesthetic appears to have gone through a futuristic, highly graphical metamorphosis, rendering it all but completely reinvented. The first dial, cased in yellow gold, is fully composed of engraved miniature squares like a mosaic effect, which gradually changes in hue from white gold at the top to yellow gold in the middle, and then rose gold at the bottom. But Cartier’s creative ingenuity truly takes flight in the way the maison actually worked on the minute finishes of each of these tiny surfaces. In addition to a sunburst finish emanating from the central pinion, there is also a scattering of polished and matte finished squares providing nuances in color and texture that elevate what would have been a simple concept to a bona fide work of art.

White, rose and yellow gold tone motifs bring a conviviality to the watches

A second model in rose gold continues with this artful interpretation of the Cartier Trinity, presenting yet another geometrical motif featuring the white-rose- yellow gold aesthetic through a decidedly modern lens. For this watch, the maison’s designers have created an elegant repeated pattern that draws reference from an extremely supple micro-link bracelet such as that of the breathtaking new Tank Normale. Adding a final touch of finesse is the glorious sunburst finish extending from the central pinion to the edges of the dial. To all Cartier Tank aficionados searching for something truly unique, your search ends here.

In full color: Tank Louis Cartier

The quintessential Cartier watch is unequivocally the Tank — specifically the Tank Louis Cartier with its graceful proportions and gloriously straight brancards that have been smooth polished and rounded to perfection. A picture of timeless elegance, it is usually inseparable from the signature Cartier Roman numerals, railroad-style minute track, blued steel sword-shaped hands, and fluted crown set with a blue sapphire crystal cabochon for gold models and red sapphire crystal for the platinum ones. Yet there are many more ways than one to delve into the inner world of the Tank Louis Cartier, which is otherwise known as the watch of a thousand faces.

Apart from the archetypal design, there are numerous iterations of the Tank Louis Cartier, each revealing a different aspect of the maison. Lacquer dial models, for instance, hark back to the exuberant ’70s when watches were highly expressive in terms of design. During this era, Cartier introduced a wide variety of Tank models across a plethora of different colors, lending a vibrant personality to the watch through the use of lacquer and occasionally ornamental stones. These are extremely collectible today, and lately, the maison has revisited this design, showcasing a modern take on the retro classic in the wildly popular Tank Must and Tank Louis Cartier collections.

Following a series of three Tank Must models graced with red, blue and green lacquer dials, as well as one more in black, Cartier proposed the Tank Louis Cartier in yellow gold with a beautiful black lacquer dial and gilt hands that is an absolute masterclass in elegance. This year, the maison continues to build upon the collection with two additions also in yellow gold, but featuring burgundy red and forest green dials that lend a completely different character to the Tank Louis Cartier. Paired with matching alligator straps, these watches make a strong wrist statement and are tacit expressions of one’s deep appreciation for Cartier the manufacture as well as its timepieces, and not forgetting its jewelry creations too.

Tank Louis Cartier

Apart from these retro-chic lacquer dials, Cartier has also created contemporary iterations of the Tank Louis Cartier, proving that the maison doesn’t only look to the past for inspiration. Taking an artistic approach to watch creation, it has since also released two fascinating new dials in gray or red that are cleverly designed to act like optical illusions. Cartier’s designers used a combination of angles, as well as light and dark hues, to create a trompe d’œil effect of descending layers while the four elongated Roman numerals appear to be floating in the empty space above. Indeed, even within the limited confines of the Tank Louis Cartier’s immaculate dial, or the skillfully openworked movement of the Santos-Dumont Skeleton, Cartier always finds a way to project our gaze — and imagination — onto a limitless universe.

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FROM THE SHOP

Unimatic

Limited Edition

Unimatic x Revolution U1 Milsub "Blue"

$1,220.00

TECH SPECS

Movement	Self-winding caliber SW200-1b; 41-hour power reserve
Functions	Hours, minutes and seconds
Case	41.5mm; 316 steel with Cerulean blue stonewashed Cerakote coating, matte vintage navy aluminium bezel insert; water resistant to 300m
Dial	Matte vintage navy; hour markers outlined in Super-LumiNova
Strap	Vintage navy TPU-coated nylon; additional vintage navy nylon with fabric keepers
Limited Edition	Limited Edition of 200 pieces

The post Show and Tell with the Cartier Santos-Dumont and Tank appeared first on Revolution Watch.

Cartier’s Les Rééditions: The Tank Cintrée in Platinum

Revolution — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 12:29:41 +0000

Cartier’s Les Rééditions: The Tank Cintrée in Platinum

“Les Rééditions” celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Tank Cintrée in platinum.

News

By Revolution

Sep 18, 2023

One of Cartier’s most iconic timepieces, the Tank Cintrée, is making a triumphant return. This watch, first introduced in 1921, represented a evolution of the original Tank from 1917. Its unique design, characterized by the curves and slenderness of its rounded case, elegantly hugs the wrist — a testament to Cartier’s dedication to both aesthetics and function.

Now, in 2023, Cartier is reintroducing the Tank Cintrée in a familiar metal — platinum.

The Return of the Tank Cintrée

According to the Cartier archives, the first platinum Tank Cintrée was made in 1923. However, no examples have been preserved, hence Cartier deemed that platinum Tank Cintrées produced in 1924 serve as the origins of this metal version.

The evolution timeline of the Tank Cintrée through the years

Cartier Tank Cintrée from 1924

The Réédition Tank Cintrée’s case has been refined to a remarkable 6.03 mm thickness, emphasizing its slender and sophisticated profile. It houses a manual-winding movement, the calibre 9780 MC, and the time-only dial displays the classic rail tracks, Roman numerals and the apple-shaped blued hands.

The “eggshell” dial adds a touch of vintage charm, and the pin buckle ensures a secure and comfortable fit. The watchmaking hallmarks of the Maison are proudly displayed, renewing and confirming the Tank Cintrée’s place in Cartier’s rich heritage.

Cartier’s Rééditions Journey

The journey of Cartier’s Rééditions began in 2021 with the launch of the Pasha Calendrier Perpétuel and the Tank Cintrée in yellow gold. These watches were produced in a limited edition of 150 each, marking significant milestones in Cartier’s history, i.e. the centenary of the Tank Cintrée and the enduring legacy of the Pasha collection.

Cartier Les Rééditions Pasha Calendrier Perpétuel
Cartier Les Rééditions Tank Cintrée in yellow gold

In 2022, Cartier continued its Rééditions journey with the Pebble watch, celebrating its 50th anniversary in style.

Read our complete guide to the Cartier Tank Cintrée here.

Tech Specs: Cartier Les Rééditions Tank Cintrée

Movement: Caliber 9780 MC manual-winding movement; 36-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours and minutes
Case: 46.3 mm by 23 mm (height 6.03 mm)
Dial: “Eggshell”
Strap: Black leather with pin buckle
Price: CHF34,700; SGD55,000
Availability: Limited to 150 pieces

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Angelus

ANGELUS x REVOLUTION CHRONODATE "ANGELS' SHARE"

$23,800.00

TECH SPECS

Movement	Self-winding caliber A-500; 60 hours power reserve
Functions	Hours, minutes, small seconds, chronograph and date
Case	42.5mm; titanium; water resistant to 30m
Dial	Salmon (6N gold plated) with gené or frosted area; Super-LumiNova filled Arabic numerals
Strap	Ballistic gray rubber; titanium folding clasp

The post Cartier’s Les Rééditions: The Tank Cintrée in Platinum appeared first on Revolution Watch.

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