Cartier's Watches & Wonder 2023 Launches Are Major Grails
Cartier said go big or go home this year.
By Keng Yang Shuen,
Watches & Wonder, the world's largest watch fair, wrapped up last week and with it, major launches in the horological world. With nearly 50 brands vying for attention, it can be hard to stand out, though Cartier certainly made a splash, with updates and new launches across almost all of its key ranges from Santos to the evergreen Tank family. Below, we pick out some of our favourites among the French maison's extensive line-up this year:
The beloved Baignoire (French for bathtub), first introduced in 1912, has always occupied a special place in the Cartier universe thanks to its elliptical shape. This year, the maison has outfitted the Baignoire mini with a matching bangle to complement the case and the result is a delectable jewellery watch piece, which comes in white gold with pave diamonds, pink gold and yellow gold (pictured). Also an excellent candidate if you're on board with the newly revived tiny watch trend.
The annual Prive collection is where the maison launches or re-issues special-edition or "mythical" designs from its storied archives; basically the playground for hardcore Cartier geeks. Its seventh outing sees a legendary model finally being inducted: cue the Louis Cartier-designed Tank Normale, the very first Tank that started the eponymous range back in 1917.
This reissue of the Tank Normale comes with the distinctive features of the OG, with the same proportions and beveled sapphire crystal, a beautiful Roman numeral dial with inner railroad track and the 1917 date hidden in the VII numeral, and a satin-brushed case. Where the new Tank Normale really shines though, is the matching metal bracelets on both the platinum model (pictured) and yellow gold version, a design move which Cartier says is a nod to 1970s timepieces and which is a first for the Prive collection. It's an ultra-suave design to be sure - act fast if you want to get it; each model is limited to only 100 pieces.
A product of the '80s (to be specific, 1988), the Tank Americaine drew its inspiration from an earlier brethen, the Tank Cintree watch of the '20s, from which the Americaine borrows its distinctive elongated shape and curved case. This year's update sees 11 variations made available across three sizes (mini, small, and large, the latter pictured here).
Changes are subtle; Cartier has refined things by making the Tank Americaine's silhouette and brancards a little curvier and the large version also houses a new caliber 1899 MC, and is the only model out of the entire line-up that sports a mechanical movement. Essentially the large model is now more compact and thinner - it measure 44.4mm x 24.2mm and has a thickness of 8.6mm, compared to 45.1mm x 26.6mm x 9.8mm from before.
The Tank Louis Cartier is a classic good-looker but in recent years, the maison has offered more playful options. There are four new colourways this year: this pair comes in yellow or pink gold (pictured) cases, along with striking patterned dials - if you're wondering what's up with that, Cartier says they're meant to be a nod to the disco-ready Tank Musts of the '70s. The other duo offers unembellished dials (in deep red or green) along with matching alligator straps for a clean, tonal vibe. Each watch operates on the same manual wind 1917 MC movement.
Clash [Un]limited small 18K rose gold watch with diamonds, spinels, tsavorites, coral and chrysoprase, $167,000
While this is Watches & Wonder, Cartier's other specialty lies of course in jewels. The new Clash [Un]limited timepiece features the same design codes (beads, studs and other embellishments) from the maison's punk-ish Clash de Cartier jewellery range, resulting in a uniquely geometric masterpiece that stays true to Cartier visual DNA.
The Clash [Un]limited watch features an articulated bracelet with rolling balls as the centre links (that must have took some nifty engineering), while the case itself sports an intricate sixteen-faceted cut glass, a detail that's reminiscent of vintage ladies’ watches. There are five options in total, three of which are more "everyday-friendly" in yellow gold, rose gold and white gold (all with pave diamonds) as well as two exceptional limited-edition pieces in black and white, or multi-coloured (pictured).
From left: Santos-Dumont XL 18K yellow gold watch, $25,600; platinum watch, $33,800; rose gold watch, $25,600; all with alligator straps
It may have XL in the name but Cartier also shines in the small things; take for example how the Roman numerals in these three Santos-Dumont XL models (in blue, red and green respectively) actually have a matching coloured cabochon stones set into the crown. Neat. Did we also mention the Roman numerals are cut directly in jasper, jade and dumortierite onto the dial? Each of these XL model is limited edition (200 pieces) and they come with a manually wound 430 MC mechanical movement. There are two more colourways (though in large rather than XL) in this new Santos-Dumont range; yellow gold with a blue dial, and the other in steel and yellow gold with a grey dial.