Cartier capitalizes on its incredible savoir-faire

Since 2007, Cartier has accustomed us to virtuosity beyond compare : to date, it is the only fine watchmaking company ever to have developed the capacity to achieve such far-reaching ambitions! In just ten years, this La Chaux-de-Fonds-based watchmaker has imagined, created and manufactured an amazing 45 different calibres. A remarkable demonstration of prowess, designed to secure indisputable legitimacy in the timepiece market, in record time. And, although Louis-François Cartier’s sons were the masterminds behind a few iconic pieces, such as the Santos in 1904 and the Tank in 1919, the brand has never hushed the fact that, for years, it has been calling on third parties to provide it with movements.

And, it goes without saying, the mysterious movements are definitely a part of Cartier’s DNA. The first pendulum to embrace this highly-particular architecture, where the mechanism appears to have vanished, was the 1912 work of the watchmaker Maurice Coüet, Cartier’s exclusive partner. The double tourbillon in this piece appears to hover at the heart of an aperture set at 10 o’clock. The carriage rotates around itself in 1 minute, whilst the sapphire disc that embeds it has a 5-minute rotation period. This high-powered development features in the Rotonde Mysterious Double Tourbillon presented in 2013.

After a crazy period of creativity, it seems that Cartier has now reached the ‘ age of reason ’.

By Fabrice Eschmann