Cartier’s footsteps in the watch industry can be traced back nearly 170 years ago. According to historical records collected by the brand, Cartier sold the first batch of watch products in 1853, and the sales records of watches appeared in the archives in 1888.
Left to Right:
Cartier Santos-Dumont watch, 1912, Cartier Paris
Cartier Tonneau watch, circa 1989
Cartier Tortue watch, circa 1990
Cartier Tank watch, 1920, Cartier Paris
But what really made Cartier known as the pioneer of watches was the first Santos-Dumont watch made in 1904 for the pioneer of flight Albert Santos-Dumont. Since then, Tonneau (1906), Tortue (1912), Tank (1917) and a series of replica watches with different shapes have come out one after another, achieving the reputation of today’s “Master of Modeling Watches”.
At the same time, Cartier has also penetrated into the field of complex functions in the watchmaking industry. Among the historical masterpieces in the collection of the brand heritage department are the Cube minute repeater clock (1910), calendar moon phase clock (1910), day and night display “comet” clock (1913), minute repeater pocket replica watch with linear perpetual calendar (1925), three-time zone pocket watch (1927), perpetual calendar split-second chronograph minute repeater “big complication” pocket watch (1927), Tortue minute repeater watch (1928), Tortue single-button chronograph (1929), jumper Time pocket watch (1929), world time pocket watch (1940) and so on.
Foray into Fine Watchmaking
After more than a century of accumulation in technology, design, and concept, after continuous integration, the spirit and charm of the brand are finally extracted from it, and it is also ready to fully enter advanced watchmaking.
The Cartier watch workshop located in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland has been implementing the “Made in Cartier” program since 2005, establishing and strengthening the connection and communication between various departments in the workshop . Promote the exchange of more than 170 departments and types of work in the workshop, and help the convergence of spirit and charm.
In this giant workshop covering an area of more than 30,000 square meters, multiple departments such as design, production, after-sales service and restoration of Cartier replica watches are gathered. New products carrying the spirit of advanced watchmaking are all completed under the same roof from creativity, design, movement and sample production, testing, to manufacturing, decoration, assembly, inspection, and packaging after they are officially put into production. Such a huge investment, even in today’s watch industry can be regarded as a shocking generosity.
Mysterious Time – Cartier’s Exclusive Advanced Watchmaking Field
From the perspective of buyers and customers, Cartier’s full entry into the advanced watchmaking industry is definitely what everyone expects. This is not only because Cartier is the first manufacturer to set foot in the field of advanced watchmaking with complex functions as its core, and its industry experience and reputation are enviable, but also the experience and capabilities accumulated by the brand are also ahead of most of its peers. There is one more important point-Cartier is one of the very few manufacturers with an exclusive signature advanced watchmaking style.
Mysterious time – the mysterious clock is a major contribution of Cartier to the replica watch industry, and it is also the exclusive domain of Cartier in the concept of advanced watchmaking. This wonderful idea combining machinery and illusion comes from the great magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin in the 19th century, who completed the first mysterious clock in 1839. From 1912 to the 1930s, Maurice Coué, a talented watchmaker and Cartier’s exclusive contracted supplier, made a batch of mysterious clocks for Cartier, opening up this psychedelic complication exclusive to Cartier.
Since then, Cartier has always carried forward the mysterious time display mode created by the mysterious clock as its own technical characteristics. Introduced the porch-type gravity mystery clock (1927), the magnetic mystery Fengshui table clock (1928), the miniaturized mystery pocket watch (1931), the miniature prism mystery clock (1952), the horizontally placed disc mystery Fengshui clock ( 1953), the One-Axis Mystery Clock (1956), and more. In 2013, Cartier used the mysterious time display on the wristwatch for the first time, taking a big step to bring the mysterious time into the watch era.
Mystery + Hollow Out = Riddle + Answer
The mystery of the mysterious time lies in the display mode: the hour and minute hands seem to be suspended in the air, helpless, but accurately indicate the time.
The basic principle of realizing the mysterious time is to attach the pointer to the circular glass sheet with gears around it, and use the gear teeth hidden in the surrounding transmission mechanism to drive the glass sheet to rotate, resulting in the mysterious effect of the pointer running in the air.
In the past ten years, Cartier has expanded the mysterious replica watch to derivative styles such as the mysterious double tourbillon, the mysterious day and night display, and the mysterious celestial rotating tourbillon. Constitute a thriving family of mysterious time in advanced watchmaking exclusive to Cartier.
This year, Cartier brought a new member to the mysterious family-the Masse Mystérieuse watch. Equipped with the new 9801 MC movement, it can avoid the influence of gravity on travel time. This movement was designed, developed, produced and assembled in the Cartier watchmaking workshop. It took nearly eight years to complete and has applied for a patent. Craftsmen need to make five different models before releasing a prototype; two prototypes need to be made to deploy the final movement.
The hands of the Masse Mystérieuse watch are suspended in the opening in the middle of the case, seemingly unconnected to the gears. The movement full of semi-circular automatic oscillating weight becomes the background of the pointer, which swings lightly with the movement of the wrist, without affecting the suspended pointer to run steadily and accurately indicate the time.
The most complex movement structure is presented in the most flexible way, showing the most basic watch functions – full of conceptual collisions and paradoxical oppositions, the final conclusion of simplifying is the simplest time: hours and minutes .
So far, the magic master’s performance is not over yet: the originally suspended pointer and pendulum are like a riddle presented by the magician to the audience, leaving room for everyone’s imagination and guessing. But this time the magician made the oscillating weight into a highly hollowed out one, so that the internal winding gear, escapement and transmission gear set can be clearly seen. The answer to the mystery is almost revealed to the world. Players who are familiar with clocks and replica watches will understand the truth as long as they read it carefully.
This is a rare display of advanced watchmaking magic, presenting the mystery and the answer together under the spotlight, and at the same time demonstrating Cartier’s confidence and determination in the field of advanced watchmaking. After all, the mysterious time is originally the exclusive territory of Cartier in the field of advanced watchmaking for many years. What to do, what to do, and what to do are all up to you.
Advanced watchmaking was originally a serious and unsmiling definition, and this time Cartier chose a special exclusive space in the field of advanced watchmaking to display the new Masse Mystérieuse watch. With the suspended oscillating weight that moves lightly with the wind and the suspended hands that accurately follow every minute and every second, it interprets the essence of advanced watchmaking concepts in an entertaining and entertaining way. This pioneering effort to play with advanced watchmaking easily may be finding a direction worth trying for the future of the advanced watchmaking industry in the 21st century.
