Cartier

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Part III: Movement 1904 MC

A subtle landmark

Named the 1904 MC for the year Louis Cartier created a wristwatch for pilot Alberto Santos-Dumont, this is the first automatic movement to be made in-house by Cartier. With the exception of a handful of parts like the balance wheel and hairspring, movement components are made by Cartier, either at La Chaux-de-Fonds or Buttes in the Canton of Neuchâtel, with assembly and testing done at La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Measuring 11 ½ lignes and 4 mm high, the movement is designed to be reliable, easy to service and suitable for mass production. Notably it is the same diameter as the ETA 2892, if slightly thicker, enabling it to be an easy replacement for the 2892.

The 1904 MC is constructed with double barrels that unwind in series for more consistent torque over the 48 hour power reserve. Sitting on ceramic ball bearings, the rotor winds both barrels are wound bidirectionally thanks to a V-shaped pawl. This winding mechanism is very similar to Seiko’s “Magic Lever”. Compared to the traditional reversers (in ETA calibres for instance), the V-shaped pawl theoretically offers more efficient winding.

The escapement is conventional, featuring a smooth Glucydur balance with a lever that touches its rim to stop its oscillation when the crown is pulled. While not remarkable in any way, this escapement set up is tried and tested and works tremendously well.

This particular specimen being reviewed uses the short lived version 1 of the 1904 MC. Several subtle differences exist between v.1 and 2. Most obviously v.1 is fitted with an ordinary ETAChron regulator as seen here, while v.2 sports a C-shaped regulator. For increased robustness, the second generation is 4 mm high, compared to 3.86 mm for v.1. Also, in the first version, the wheel train bridge is integrated with the barrel bridge, but in v.2, the two bridges are separate to facilitate servicing.

The first batch of steel as well as steel-gold Calibre de Cartier watches were fitted with v.1 of the movement while the solid gold models were delivered with v.2 of the movement from the beginning. However, Cartier has since switched to the v.2 movement for all Calibre de Cartier models, regardless of case metal.

Though it is by no means a fancy movement, it does its job superbly. This is not unexpected given the design of the movement. The daily variation on this specimen was no more than one second and it generally gained a consistent one second a day.

Finishing on the movement is appropriate for a watch of this price range. Attention is paid to ensure it is aesthetically pleasing. It is by no means high horology but it is sufficient. Striping is consistent and catches the light nicely, while lettering on the rotor is engraved and then filled with black lacquer.

The 1904 MC is an important development for Cartier in terms of brand development and competition. It signals Cartier’s push into more serious watchmaking in all segments, not just the top end. It will certainly find its way into many more Cartier watches in the sub-$10,000 price range. Such a movement will bestow a higher degree of credibility to those watches, relative to the current various ETA movements used, making the products far more competitive, especially with more technical brands like IWC and JLC.

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