Discussion
Clueless_Collector's insightful post revisits the Cartier Clé, a collection launched in 2015 and quietly discontinued. He prompts a crucial discussion: why did a watch with such distinctive Cartier design elements, including a unique crown and elegant curves, fail to capture the market's attention? This article explores community theories on its reception and potential for future appreciation.
But at the time, The Cle wasn't distinct enough. The case is a very 1950s/60s style. And the crown wasn't super distinctive like Pasha. Buyers of Cartier typically go for "obvious" designs and the Ballon Bleu was the hot item amongst housewives. I've even heard from a wife of a PuristSPro member that she wore Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin and the other parents at her child's school didn't know what she was wearing and they only knew Rolex and Cartier Ballon Bleu.
I used to work for a Cartier AD and I got the feeling women didn't view the Cle as an aesthetic upgrade over the more common/historical offerings in the Cartier lineup nor the almighty Ballon Bleu. One thing for sure is the crown was a pain in the arse to wind, and not so easy to pull out to adjust the date and time. It was also a little thicker than a tank francaise, etc. and thus ultimately never caught on. Myself, I liked it!
I liked how you described the practicality of the crown, lol….a main feature of this watch 😅 Who knows in future these might make a comeback in next century, when Cartier looked at their “archives”, like history repeating itself now with the Chinoise, Normale etc.
The Cartier catalog has plenty of choice and the majority of people keep to the classic Cartier designs.
Even if there are blings, we will still wear them too 😬😅
Even the “regular” skeletons are too rich for me imho, but the brand was known for Royals so maybe commoners like me are not their target audience.
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