Cartier has managed to bring the audacity and creative joy of its high jewellery pieces to its equally appreciated high watchmaking activities. Inspired by the silhouette of a WWI Renault tank or the crumpled remains of a Cartier oval watch following a car crash - which gave birth to the rectangular lines of the 1917 Tank watch and the groovy asymmetry of the 1967 Crash watch respectively - Cartier's designers find stimuli in the most unusual places. What is equally reassuring is the enduring success of Cartier's unconventional watch shapes. The Tank, the square Santos pilot's watch and the plump, round curves of the Ballon Bleu are all as in demand today as they were when they first launched.
The new Cartier Clé collection opens the door to a more contained and tapered rotundity than the Ballon Bleu. The challenge here was to create a new case based on a perfect circle. The round dial, with its classic Roman numerals and guilloché centre, is offset by gently arching lugs, lending the profile a graceful ergonomic line that sits perfectly on the wrist.
Pages
Click here to see the published article.
