Gearing up for the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH 2018), Cartier brings on a new spin to two of its iconic timepieces. Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Double Tourbillon and Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Day/Night watch flaunt the aesthetic signature of the maison. Cartier finds the perfect balance between clean design and flamboyant style. It’s a wonder to see these two watches feature a mysterious movement and Cartier’s signature and yet be as distinct from each other as possible.
Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Double Tourbillon
A tourbillon is one of the most inspiring complications of a luxury watch, especially so in this case. One look at the tourbillon suspended in mid-air, and you are completely floored! Created at the La Chaux-de-Fonds Manufacture in 2013, the tourbillon seems to be devoid of any connection with the rest of the movement. As a double flying tourbillon, it effects a complete rotation in 60 seconds, while the tourbillon cage performs a second rotation in which each round takes 5 minutes.
A lot rests on the case design as it is an open framework. As the skeletonised case lays bare the movement, it allows the wearer to appreciate the artistry of the watchmaker. All of the components of the movement are hand-finished: the bridges chamfered, flanks drawn and screw heads polished. The maison has very cleverly justaposed the curves of the mysterious movement with the clean lines of the openwork architecture.
The Skeleton Mysterious Double Tourbillon is a limited and numbered edition of 30 pieces. The navy blue alligator strap echo the blue of the steel sword-shaped hands and the blue sapphire of the crown. The watch offers a unique look and feel, one that a true watch connoisseur will surely appreciate.
Mysterious Day/Night
This watch combines two of Cartier’s historic complications – the mysterious movement and the Day/Night indicator. Coming together for the first time, the two complications lend an ethereal look to the watch.
For starters, the sun, driven from left to right by the mysterious movement, appears to levitate in the top half of the dial. As it hands over the indicator to the moon, the movement completes its Day/Night feat. The heavenly bodies indicate hours of the day and night. And the retrograde minutes display themselves on the bottom half of the dial.
The watch has a blue steel minute hand. The sun and moon serve as the hours’ marker. The 18k pink gold case looks stunningly stylish on the wrist. It is also available in a white gold version. The grey alligator skin strap maintains the finesse of the rest of the watch.
Cartier harked back into its history to come up with these two masterpieces.
It had created the mysterious movement for the Model A mystery clock, while the day/ night movement was part of the Comet clock (also known as the Planet clock). This was done way back in 1912. Today as the maison reimagines its iconic complications, it has set a new milestone for the luxury watchmaking industry.
If you are a true Cartier lover, you simply can’t miss these creations. Others call them watches, we call them ‘poems of time.’
