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*** Cartier

Cartier’s collection this year is typical in the fact that its entry- and mid-level stuff will likely be commercial hits. But it is atypical because its haute horlogerie watches are numerous and are a declaration of Cartier’s goals to push itself upmarket in a serious way – remember that Cartier is a billion dollar brand.

We’ll start with the simple stuff. Cartier has unveiled a bigger Bagnoire for men. Surprisingly it does not look feminine, despite the shape and the fact that the Bagnoire was previously for ladies. Unusually the enlarged watch looks as elegant as the original and would be an excellent black tie timepiece. It does however remind me of the Patek Philippe Ellipse, which I also think is a great formal dress watch.

Men's Bagnoire rose gold 

Men's Bagnoire white gold 

The ladies’ Bagnoire is quartz while the new men’s version is manual-wind with a Piaget cal. 430P movement.

Ladies' Bagnoire 

The new men's Bagnoire is not part of the Collection Privée Cartier Paris (CPCP) though. I was told the CPCP line will eventually be discontinued, more on that later when we get to the high horology watches further down.

The Ballon Bleu was launched in 2007 and has since become one of the brand’s bestsellers. This is one of the few, perhaps the only, top selling Cartier wristwatch that is a modern design, rather than a classic design from decades ago like the Santos, Tank et al.

This year sees the launch of the first small complication in the Ballon Bleu range. It’s a chronograph with a modular movement. Inside the 8000 MC automatic movement made by JLC exclusively for Cartier topped with an in-house chronograph plate. The asymmetrical layout of the dial – two counters only with date at 9 o’clock – matches the Ballon Bleu case design, it is classical but quirky. This will be available in the three colours of gold, on either strap or bracelet.

Ballon Bleu chronograph rose gold 

Yellow gold 

White gold 

Next is the Santos 100 in an amorphous diamond-like carbon (ADLC) treated case. This is a very unusual step for Cartier, both in terms of materials and design; I cannot recall any other Cartier watch with a treated case. While it is striking and fills a gap in Cartier’s product line, there are many other Cartier watches I would buy before this one.

Santos 100 XL chronograph in titanium and ADLC  

According to Cartier, the unique property of ADLC which makes it superior to all other coating methods is the thickness of the coating, which means it will not reveal a contrasting colour of the substrate if scratched (of course if a gouge is deep enough the substrate will be shown). In addition, the treatment is fingerprint-resistant so touching the case won’t leave a fingerprint. Cartier says this specific treatment process is used in military equipment and that it has exclusive rights to use this treatment for watches.

Santos 100 XL chronograph in rose gold and ADLC

Three models are available, the Santos 100 XL Chronograph, Santos 100 XL and Santos 100. Both XL versions are 38 mm in diameter, while the smaller one is 32 mm.

Rose gold case with ADLC bezel and pushers;

for some inexplicable reason I forgot to remove the plastic from this, apologies.

It is available in three combinations: ADLC with titanium bezel and pushers, ADLC with rose gold bezel and pushers, and rose gold case with ADLC bezel and pushers.

Santos 100 Automatic with glossy ADLC case 

Two more versions of the Santos Triple 100 were unveiled this year. The first has black, silver or skeleton dial, in essence it’s a Santos 100 Skeleton with a louvered dial.

The second, set with diamonds, features an engraved eagle on one dial, black and white diamonds on another and plain white on the last face.

The le Cirque Animalier de Cartier collection, which in previous years were dedicated to Asia hence featured the panda, elephant or tiger, now features animals native to North America. Thus the animals depicted are the bald eagle, alligator (not a crocodile) and a raccoon (I think). All three are quartz. The alligator and white tiger are graceful yet whimsical watches; I don’t like the colours of the Bald Eagle. Limited edition of 50 pieces of each.

Now we get to Cartier Haute Horlogerie; this collection is not part of the CPCP, it is just Cartier. As I mentioned earlier, the CPCP will eventually be discontinued, though many CPCP models will carry on without the “Paris” label on the dial, just like the men’s Bagnoire above.

One interesting aspect of the high horology collection is its pricing. For example, the Americaine tourbillion retails for approximately USD85,000 and the Central Chronograph is about USD36,000 (these are approximations converted from the Singapore retail price). Those are very fair prices given the level of finish and the complication, not to mention the brand.

First we the Santos 100 Skeleton, unusually cased in 950 palladium. Measuring 46.5 x 54.9 mm, the Santos 100 Skeleton contains an in-house 9611 MC movement. This calibre was developed by Carole Forestier and her team at La Chaux-de-Fonds and not by Roger Dubuis, in fact Ms Forestier mentioned that the development of the calibre began several years before RD was acquired by Cartier in 2008.

The baseplate of the movement forms the Roman numerals of the dial. I like the movement very much but the watch is too large. I mentioned to Ms Forestier that the movement is small for such a large watch, she was not pleased and replied that the movement is actually large, the twin barrels take up most of the space at the top while the keyless works occupy most of the area on the right.

Next is a trio of tourbillions, all using the same 9452 MC movement based on the RD flying tourbillion calibre. The movements are made by Cartier inside Roger Dubuis' manufacture in Geneva and feature the Geneva Seal. Cartier has improved the construction of the movement, most notably in terms of reliability of timekeeping over several years.

Ballon Bleu tourbillon 

Cal. 9452 MC flying tourbillon movement 

Last year saw the launch of the Ballon Bleu tourbillion, 2009 sees the addition of the Tank Americaine and Santos 100 tourbillon. The Ballon Bleu is 46 mm wide, the Tank Americaine is 35.8 x 52 mm and the Santos is 46.5 x 54.9 mm. Each is available in white or pink gold. Even though these are very small movements in very large cases, the proportions of the dials look right because they are designed such that the tourbillion looks fairly close to the edge of the dial.

Santos 100 Tourbillon

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