Horological Meandering

The contemporary Tortue (French for tortoise) collection is inspired by vintage Cartier designs from the first Golden Age of Cartier in the early 20th century, back when Cartier was truly jeweller to kings (and the superrich). Aside from the monopusher, the Tortue case also houses several other high complications, including a perpetual calendar and minute repeater.

I like the Tortue not just for its elegant form, but because it is one of the well kept secrets of Cartier (the other being the whole Collection Privée Cartier Paris range). Unlike its famous brethen like the Tank, Panthere, Santos et al, the Tortue is not widely recognised nor is it widely copied - the former is likely the reason for the latter! But of all the Tortue cased Cartiers offered, the monopusher chronograph takes the cake, in my humble opinion.

Tortue Monopusher in yellow gold
(Image from Cartier)

Cartier first unveiled the modern take on the monopusher in 1998 as a limited edition, before adding it to the Collection Privée Cartier Paris in 2000 as part of regular production. This reedition is the same size as the original, although a larger XL version was later unveiled. Inside lies the cal. 045MC, a highly distinctive movement easily recognisable through a display back. Many of the single-button, co-axial chronographs on the market today use this same movement, including the Ulysse Nardin Pulsometer and Girard Perregaux 375MM. That movement was designed by Techniques Horlogères Appliquées (THA) in St-Croix, a movement specialist founded by two genius watchmakers, Vianney Halter and Francois-Paul Journe. Journe noted in a 2003 interview, he created the movement and gave Jaquet (now La-Joux-Perret) the rights to the movement. MTF wrote about an interesting rumour concerning FP Journe and Cartier in the earlier thread too. 

Cartier cal. 045MC
(Image from Cartier)

Cartier kindly provided me with further technical information on this lovely watch in a Powerpoint presentation, shown below as an image file.

Shown in the slide is the Tortue XL monopusher, the bigger brother of the original monopusher, created for modern tastes. I feel the XL's proportions are not as harmonious as the original.

Note the emphasis on the clutch system of the cal. 045MC, which eliminates the annoying seconds hand jump found in many chronographs.

Of the several co-axial, single button chronographs available today, my favourite is without a doubt the Cartier Tortue. While its quality and finish are top notch, its true strength is design. The Tortue sits subtly on the wrist yet it stands out, and the two subdials give the face just the right amount of detail. Most importantly, the Tortue possesses an elegant charm that Cartier manages to do so well, a charm that is evident in nearly all the classic Cartier designs. 

Sometimes a Purist can be forgiven for feeling disheartened on seeing some of the current Cartier designs that emhpasis rubber and diamonds. Watches like the Tortue and the rest of the Collection Privée Cartier Paris remain a quiet reassurance that Cartier still remembers where it came from.

- SJX

(Many thanks to Mr Olivier Romang at Cartier for the pictues and information. For an excellent write up on this very watch, check out Stephen Sugiyama's piece here.)