Grande Complication…
After two strong years of showing new and innovative timepieces at the annual SIHH in Geneva, there is little question that Cartier has re-identified itself as a real player in the high-end watch segment. From the impressive Cartier Caliber One collection (with my further assessment here) to the Cartier ID One concept watch to this — a 30 piece limited, numbered Grande Complication — Cartier’s renewed horological credentials are without question.
Cartier Rotonde Grande Complication Skeleton (Ref W1580017)
Skeleton movement with tourbillon, single push-piece chronograph and
perpetual calendar complications.
43.5mm platinum case (16.25mm thick), manual winding manufacture Caliber 9362 MC (8 days power reserve)
Close up –
comes on alligator strap with double adjustable deployant buckle in platinum.
The case of the missing “XII”…
In January 2010 I wrote about the new Calibre de Cartier collection as a watch that impressed me when it was announced at the 2010 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (otherwise known as SIHH) in Geneva. But even prior to this, do you recall the teaser video which the Calibre de Cartier to everyone’s attention? Yes, you may have seen it first here, on Dec 7 2009 (along with the teaser photo), but if you did not I will re-show it here and now (55 seconds):
Calibre de Cartier teaser video
Keeping with this theme, I just learned that Cartier actually continued the saga (or perhaps closed it out) recently with this video it released in June. Here take a look (1 min 43 secs):
Calibre de Cartier post-launch video
A production on a budget that only a deep-pocketed brand such as Cartier could afford, wouldn’t you agree?!
Anyway – moving on to the watch…
…now that the new Calibre de Cartier watches are finally hitting the display cases of Authorized Dealers I decided to take a closer look. As I previously opined, the watch is very nicely sized at 42mm and has a good look to it (aside from the slightly exposed date aperture). The case – with its large (but nicely curved) lugs and crown protector fits well on my smaller-to-medium sized wrist. One design element that is not immediately apparent — but a nice design element nonetheless — is the fluted ring around the inner edge of the case:
I really appreciate finer details like this not to mention that I find that it really adds to the look of the watch!
The movement is Cartier’s manufacture caliber 1904 MC and is visible through the sapphire crystal caseback. “1904″ is a reference to the year of the birth of Cartier watchmaking when Louis Cartier created a watch for his friend, the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont. The 1904 MC is Cartier’s first in-house automatic movement. Cartier claims a few features and innovations in the movement, namely a system of ceramic ball bearings at the center of the rotor to provide shock resistance and durability, a bi-directi0nal winding rotor, and an innovative pawl system that results in a faster winding rate (thus allowing the watch to be wound more easily). And, of course, a nice video animation to show it all off:
Cartier Calibre 1904 MC Manufacture Movement video
Cartier has created a dedicated website where you can see and learn more about the collection. Though it is not as impressive as the site for the Chanel J12 Marine watches, it is still worth the look — click to to jump on over!
All in all, I am excited about this new Calibre de Cartier collection from Cartier as well as the brand’s renewed comittment to being serious player in the world of high-watchmaking.
Among the many many watches coming online at Perpetuelle.com’s Official SIHH 2010 Forum, here’s another that caught my eye this morning – the Cartier Caliber collection. We saw only a teaser of this one leading up to the SIHH event, and now seeing it the first time I would say that Cartier seems to have done a nice job with this one and this is an entirely new collection from the jewellery brand who seems quite serious on establishing itself as a very credible watch brand beyond just fashion.
This watch is nicely shaped, not too big, not too small, IMO – 42mm. The watch has Cartier’s Caliber MC 1904 which they say is “the first self-winding mechanical movement crafted entirely by Cartier.” I’m not a big fan of the “exposed date” feature where you see the day before/after, but otherwise it looks solid to me.
There are 3 variations, but I strongly prefer the 2 pictured below over the third (you can see all these variations as well as their technical specifications and Cartier’s eloquent press release if you click over to Cartier’s SIHH forum thread, here).
by Kyle Stults on December 29, 2009
Looking back on my December 2008 predictions as to what would be the highlights of the watch world during 2009, I must say that a treasure trove of watches on the auction block from perpetrators of Ponzi schemes (Bernie on the (Auction) Block: Madoff’s Monoblocco Rolex, Other Watches Up for Grabs, November 9, 2009) or drug lords (Narco Bling: The Watches of Mexican Drug Kingpins, July 28, 2009) was not on my list! But makes for interesting subject matter…so here’s another!
With the global recession experienced during 2009 we saw some big-time con artists exposed – most notably of course the aforementioned mega-Ponzi scheme criminal Bernie Madoff. But did you hear about South Florida lawyer Scott Rothstein? This ostensibly upstanding citizen recently plead ‘not guilty’ to U.S. charges alleging he ran a $1.2 billion fraud. Yes, that is $1.2 BILLION, not million. Yikes! And like Madoff, if not moreso, this guy’s desire to flaunt his wealth (actually may be more likely “other people’s wealth” ) was strong. Yachts, cars, fancy house, politicians (yes they and their votes are also apparently for sale these days) and more – some would say this guy “had it all” and from the looks of the court documents he didn’t come across an expensive item he did not like. Oh, and his watches:
What an ostentatious lineup! Pretty absurd, huh? And this is just the tip of the iceberg as the court docs indicate over 300 watch and jewelry items in his possession. If you care to wager a guess or shed some light on any of the brands/models show above, hit the comment button and let me know!
Anyway – the coverage of Scott Rothstein’s demise has been extensive, but since I covered the Bernie Madoff Auction, I thought it only fitting to give a quick post on the subject as a new auction is now on the horizon. Turns out that the items seized at this fella’s law offices (Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler) are going up for auction on January 23, 2010. While I do not see any wristwatches in the mix for now, there are a couple watch-related items along with a bunch of sports memorabilia. Below you will see 2 of the items – looks like a Franck Muller Crazy Hours Dual Time wall clock and some sort of Cartier desktop clock (pocketwatch maybe but don’t think so?) will be up for grabs to the highest bidder:
This particular auction aside, I would venture a guess that the watches you see in the first photo above – and many more – will be auctioned sometime in 2010 as Scott Rothstein’s case moves forward. I’ll keep you posted 
Last word – hopefully this is the last Ponzi scheme I cover for a very long time – you may not know it, but the loss and devastation caused by these types of scams runs far and wide – quite sad, really.
Now this is what I like to see…after a couple leaks of some exciting watches coming from Cartier next year (like this and this ), Cartier decides to send out this little teaser. And I say “Well done, Cartier team, well done! But you know you can only hide from First In Watches for so long…..”
So, any guesses on what this watch might be? Based on the case shape, I think we might be seeing the start of a whole new Collection from Cartier…
Sure, sure – you’ve seen the pics (if not you can check them out HERE), but how about the video? First In Watches – we got ya covered, yuh!
Seeing the watch rotor in action reminds me of something out of a Batman movie!
by Kyle Stults on December 03, 2009
Update: It just hit me! Funny, but I was just lauding Cartier’s Rotonde de Cartier couple months ago, wondering what SIHH 2010 might have in store….and now this!
Limited edition 100 pieces. 45mm diameter stainless steel case. Cartier Caliber 9455 MC manual winding movement with the Geneva Seal.
Love it.
Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Flying Tourbillon Skeleton
Source: Cartier.
If you were still in doubt of Cartier’s watchmaking ambitions after last year’s SIHH, then you will doubt no more after seeing this – the Cartier ID One Concept Watch. Cartier revealed this amazing new “concept watch” to tell the world that is quite serious about being more than just another “fashion” brand in the world of high watchmaking, and at first glance it looks like its effort will be a convincing one. Boy does she look sweet! Check it out:
The watch is set in a 46mm “Ballon Bleu”-style case – except in a very high tech and undoubtedly awesome material called “Niobium-Titanium” (more on Nb-Ti below). The basic concept behind the Cartier ID One is to create a watch which does not require regulation or adjustment either during assembly or indeed at any time during the life of the watch. Presently, there are several basic points at which every mechanical watch has to be adjusted during the assembly process, most notably the hairspring, the balance, and the pallet fork. Cartier has come up with innovations that it believes address each of these challenges. I’ll touch briefly upon each, but first, how about a couple more pics of this amazing watch:
Now, back to the numerous innovations in this watch. First is what Cartier calls a “Zerodur hairspring”. Zerodur is the name of a proprietary ceramic/glass material that is completely unaffected by magnetic fields and is also highly dimensionally and elastically stable across a wide range of temperatures. Next, Cartier has introduced a balance wheel, escape wheel and lever in “Carbon Crystal”. Carbon Crystal is an extremely hard, diamond-like material which effectively enables the escapement to be oil free. Third, the ID One Concept Watch has a shock resistant escapement cage. This allows the escapement cage to shift both laterally and vertically to absorb force, thus protecting the entire escapement from shock. Finally, the watch has a “Niobium-Titanium” case. Niobium-titanium is a highly wear resistant (and hypoallergenic) alloy that has its own unique shock absorption properties that give it an advantage over a material such as steel. Not to mention it probably looks pretty darn cool!
The rotor of the Cartier ID One Concept Watch
I should make clear that the ID One is a concept watch and as such is not intended nor are there any current plans to offer it for sale commercially. Like concept automobiles, this concept watch is all about Cartier asserting itself as a real player in the world of haute horlogerie. You can almost hear Cartier now – “We’ve got good looking watches and the technological capabilities and skills to back it up. Recognize!” Yup, can’t argue with them on that.
Ultimately, the test for Cartier will be to do something with this concept. It will be very interesting to see if, when and where some of these innovations make it into commercially available watches. Stay tuned!
With its iconic watch collections such as the Tank and the Santos, Cartier has long been a brand whose watches tend to appeal to those more interested in high fashion and social status than to the true fans of fine mechanical watches and high watchmaking. However, at the 2009 SIHH Cartier introduced several exciting new models as well as its own in-house movements – all in an attempt to garner greater respect for itself in the world of “haute horlogerie“.
One of my favorites that Cartier introduced was the Cartier Rotonde Central Chronographe. The distinguishing feature of this watch, as its name implies, is its innovative central chronograph function. The clever design elements of this watch are subtle, but if you take a moment to understand them you will likely be impressed.
If you look closely at the dial you can see that the hours and minutes use blued hands which are invisible save for the tips. This is unlike almost any “normal” watch in which the hands extend all the way to the center of the dial. As for the chronograph function, a slim blued seconds hand begins to track the time when the push-piece is pressed, while the large counter in the form of an arc records each of its revolutions up to thirty minutes. The simple genius here being that the hands indicating the time never obscure those of the chronograph!
Perpetuelle.com partner TheTimeTV recently released a video which covers the 2009 Cartier Collection. If you watch the video here you will get a “real world” look at the Cartier Rotonde Central Chronograph watch – among several neat watches that Cartier introduced this year!
I am excited to see what Cartier will offer at the 2010 SIHH (January 2010).
by Kyle Stults on September 23, 2009
34 Distinct One-of-Kind Pieces Estimated to Auction At $10,000 to as much as $735,000
Less than 24 hours from “hammer time” and we wanted to share with you the “suggested” prices for each of the 34 “Only Watch” watches in case you are thinking about putting in a bid.
But first, what a difference two years social media can make for a special event such as this! The watch blogosphere has been buzzing for months with excitement over the 34 unique pieces that will be auctioned in Monaco less than 24 hours from now in what is sure to be a spectacular event. In fact we learned just yesterday that the event will be live-Tweeted by watch journalist Beth Doerr – so put her in your Twit-Stream now (Twitter: @doerrelizabeth)!!
If you follow watches, it is highly unlikely that you haven’t come across a blog or forum post highlighting one or all of these watches – of course First In Watches was the first to kick things off back in early-June with our feature article giving you a first look at each of the 34 pieces (see: ONLY WATCH 2009 – 34 One-of-a-Kind Watches), and since then we have gone more in-depth on some of our favorites including the following: MB&F’s Sage Vaughn HM-2, Bovet’s 3-in-1 Mona Lisa Watch, Tourneau’s Jump Hour, Piaget’s Emperador Coussin, Louis Vuitton’s Tambour, Chanel’s J12 Joallerie with pink sapphire, and Blancpain’s 500 Fathoms. Some of our watch-blogging friends have also written some good articles about their favorites, too. In particular we enjoyed this recent article from Hodinkee with some great pics of some of the more “unique” unique pieces including Cabestan’s Winch Tourbillon Vertical, Confrere Horlogere’s La Clef du Temps Tourbillon, and MB&F’s Sage Vaugh HM-2.
So what are the “odds” on what these watches will sell for? Due to their rarity and the fact that there is now reserve price, it really is hard to say! But here is where the bidding is likely to start, courtesy of Patrizzi & Co. who will be running the auction:
- Confrerie Horlogere $514,500 – $735,000
- Cabestan $411,600 – $514,500
- Patek Philippe $264,600 – $470,400
- Bovet $147,000 – $220,500
- Cartier $132,300 – $220,500
- Audemars Piguet $132,300 – $220,500
- De Bethune $132,300 – $205,800
- Breguet $117,600 – $176,400
- Tag Heuer $102,900 – $132,300
- MB&F $102,900 – $176,400
- Van Cleef & Arpels $102,900 – $132,300
- Ateliers deMonaco $88,200 – $132,300
- Louis Vuitton $88,200 – $132,300
- Ulysse Nardin $88,200 – $132,300
- Chanel $73,500 – $88,200
- Montblanc $66,150 – $88,200
- Piaget $51,450 – $73,500
- Franck Muller $51,450 – $73,500
- Bell & Ross $51,450 – $73,500
- Gerald Charles $51,450 – $73,500
- Omega $44,100 – $73,500
- Chaumet $36,750 – $51,450
- Vacheron Constantin$36,750 – $51,450
- Franc Vila $29,400 – $58,800
- Girard-Perregaux $29,400 – $44,100
- Hermes $29,400 – $44,100
- deLaCour $29,400 – $44,100
- Jaquet Droz $22,050 – $36,750
- Tourneau $22,050 – $36,750
- Blancpain $22,050 – $36,750
- Hublot $22,050 – $36,750
- Corum $17,640 – $29,400
- Frederique Constant $11,760 – $23,520
- Zenith $10,290 – $17,640
In closing, First In Watches will leave you with this cool “Only Watch preview” video produced by TheTimeTV, which is probably as close as most watch fans will ever come to these amazing watches:
