Why Cartier Watches Continue To Be Desired Among The Most Stylish Women
Cartier cements its status in watch design with innovative new offerings and considered reworkings of its archives.
By Renee Batchelor - published
A Cartier watch is always a desirable timepiece. It’s no wonder they have been seen on the wrists of some of the most famous women in the world, including on singer Taylor Swift in her recent engagement photos where she was seen sporting a gold Cartier Santos Demoiselle. A Cartier watch signifies not just tasteful, elegant design but a nod to the House’s rich heritage.
Whether it’s with an imaginative and never-seen-before new creation or the reinvigoration of an archival piece, there is an air of anticipation among the watch-loving community and clientele alike as to what the celebrated French Maison will offer at each Watches and Wonders edition. This past April, key launches included the sculptural Tressage—a kind of spiritual sister to previous design watches—and new iterations of the Panthère that walked the fine line between jewellery and watch with characteristic aplomb.
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We sat down with Pierre Rainero, Cartier’s image, style and heritage director, for a better understanding of how these watches were brought to life. Says Rainero, “Design is telling a story, but the story can be interpreted in many different ways. We don’t impose our own story, because we know that there’s a specific relationship that is created between such an object and the wearer.”
Rainero points out that the past and present are linked in all Cartier creations. He says, “I like showing the importance of historical shapes and how elevant they are in the landscape of shapes of today,” citing the Tank Louis Cartier, which is now equipped with an automatic movement and the relaunched Tank à Guichets, which he describes as “an emblem of the House”.
Rainero also points out that another space where Cartier excels at is in presenting “existing shapes in new jewellery versions”, as well as new creations like the torsade model (the new Tressage) and the new Panthère offerings. What unites all these different pieces? The purity and beauty of their design.
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Shaping the Future
Cartier today may be known as the king of shape watches, but the history of how it came to be so is less known. Rainero shares, “Cartier is always exploring new territories for creating shapes in many different ways. It can be abstract and pure geometrical shapes, or figurative shapes like the Panthère, for instance, or animals, or many different things. And we do so with a certain freedom, because it goes beyond the field of expression.”
Cartier Panthère jewellery bangle in rhodumized white gold, diamonds, emerald and onyx
Cartier, in fact, turned watchmaking on its head with its philosophy. “In watchmaking that kind of perspective was totally new, because in the history of watchmaking, the presence of the movement was the leading force to the design. Cartier took things the other way around because of its philosophy in jewellery. So we used to say that we look at watchmaking with a jeweller’s eye, and that explains why we are so focused on shapes in general and how we ask the technique to be at the service of the aesthetics,” says Rainero.
All of Cartier’s new creations are guided by this principle. Rainero says, “It’s not about obviously or systematically working with existing shapes. It’s about taking that philosophy. So that’s why it can lead to different work on an existing shape, or the creation of a totally new shape—there’s a common point in between the two.”
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Modern Treasure
Cartier Tressage in yellow gold with a a black calfskin strap
The new Tressage is the best example of a brand new shape as its braided, torsade-like strap that combines leather and gold work is something unique. On the inspiration, Rainero says, “The idea of creating torsades, for instance, with metal, was something that you can find since the Bronze Age. It became a traditional way of working with metal. At Cartier, we cherish the idea of transforming the hardest material into something that conveys a totally different impression, like a softness or a different texture. It doesn’t look hard. It looks like it was formed from a material that [has been] under constraint, where some kind of bubbles were created.” The result is not just an ingenious new shape, but a piece that is modern and wearable.
Sculpting the Panthere
In the same vein, the constant reinvention of the House’s most iconic symbols is no easy task. This year, the Panthère springs to life with two new designs: a bangle with a panther on one side and secret watch on the other, and a high jewellery creation paved with diamonds, and orange and yellow spessartite garnets. Both are exquisite and singular creations. Especially with a larger more voluminous shape like the Panthère bangle, it is interesting to observe how Cartier maintains that sense of Parisian elegance. Rainero sums it up perfectly with the quip that to Cartier, even elegance is “not a subjective judgement”.
A high jewellery Panthère de Cartier watch with diamonds, and orange and yellow spessartite garnets
He says, “For us, elegance is linked to the basic idea of not constraining the body—meaning that while there is volume, you could wear [an object] and see that it fits your body. So the curve has been studied to fit as many wrists as possible, and not give the impression that it creates constraint.” The beauty of Cartier is not just that it intellectualises designs, but that it makes its pieces true objects of desire. The biggest test after all is if these watches speak to its clientele and are treasured by them for the years to come and worn at their most significant moments. Just like Swift and her Cartier.