WATCH YOUR TIME |
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F O C U S
In 2014, Cartier inaugurated its Maison
des Métiers d’Art, a unique initiative ded-
icated to preserving and passing on rare
and precious artisanal crafts that bring
soul and substance to watchmaking.
Cartier is a must-see at any edition of Watches and
Wonders Geneva for anyone who truly appreciates fine
watchmaking and values the artistic mastery that is
it at its heart. And without fail, Cartier surprises. The
Parisian Maison is known for its rare creativity, not only
in the way it handles a unique heritage of imaginative
designs that dates back to the early 1900s, but also in
unveiling bold new forms and feats of craftsmanship.
Each watch is a reflection of the Cartier spirit, a design-
led vision where innovation is always at the service of
aesthetics and the 2025 edition of Watches and Wonders
was another forceful demonstration of this approach.
Horological sculptures
Within the Cartier Privé collection, a magnet for watch
enthusiasts that each year reveals a new take on one of
the Maison’s signature shaped watches, the spotlight
was on the Tank à Guichets, a design from that features
a digital time display. “Here, the traditional dial disap-
pears in favour of a single sculptural volume, a solid
gold case with pure lines and precisely calculated pro-
portions” explains Pierre Rainero, Cartier’s Director of
Image, Style and Heritage. “And within, there’s a jump-
ing-hour mechanism and running minutes – technical
sophistication in service of design, as always at Cartier.”
Also as usual, the Tank à Guichets was accompanied by
a suite of equally remarkable and unconventional pieces.
Alongside the new Tressage creation, a true “watch-
making sculpture” made of two twists of gold and dia-
monds surrounding a rectangular dial, it was impossible
to ignore the Panthère jewellery watch. This gem adds a
new chapter to the story of Cartier’s incomparable bes-
tiary and deserves special mention for its connection to
the Maison des Métiers d’Art.
Founded in 2014 in a restored 17th Century farmhouse
near the La Chaux-de-Fonds manufacture, this centre
of excellence has a special status within Cartier. “The
Maison serves to showcase our artistic expertise, not
only those crafts we protect but also those we continue
to develop, often by blending them with other decorative
arts,” explains Karim Drici, Senior VP – Chief Operating
Officer. “It is a meeting point between watchmaking and
the different craft traditions, some of which are very old,
which breathe a little soul into our timepieces”.
Spectacular Creations
The Maison des Métiers d’Art is home to around fifty
highly skilled artisans with ‘golden hands’, who prac-
tice and develop a range of furnace-based crafts, met-
alworking techniques and composition; always pas-
sionately and always driven to innovate and to revive
lost techniques. In the furnace, all the enamelling dis-
ciplines; in metalworking, Etruscan-style gold granula-
tion, enamel granulation and Sumerian filigree; in com-
position, micro-mosaics of stone, flower petals, straw,
wood and more.
“To enrich our approach and promote the sharing of
knowledge, the Maison des Métiers d’Art welcomes arti-
sans from diverse backgrounds,” continues Karim Drici.
“This aligns perfectly with our commitment to preserv-
ing and passing on these crafts to future generations”.
The latest Panthère de Cartier jewellery watches high-
light the Maison’s mastery of gem-setting in particu-
lar. One standout model, in white gold, “sparkles with
the light of more than 1,100 diamonds,” says the brand,
noting the 230 hours of work required to complete the
piece. “And, always looking to create a sense of natural-
ism, our jewellers chose a ‘fur-setting’ technique for the
emerald-eyed panther, a Cartier signature that involves
folding the metal over onyx to create tiny threads that
look like hairs”.
On the face of the panther, diamonds are everywhere:
on the fully pavé-set dial and on the bracelet that’s made
of snow-set stones. As Cartier puts it, “The excellence
and virtuosity of the Maison’s artisans create a unique
alchemy. Their talents transform raw material into spec-
tacular creations.”■ Éric Dumatin
1. CARTIER Tank à Guichets. Part of the Cartier Privé collection,
the Tank à Guichets, based on a 1928 model, is powered by a spe-
cially developed, hand-wound movement, the Calibre 9755 MC.
In this platinum version, it displays jumping hours at 10 o’clock
and running minutes at 4 o’clock, with burgundy-coloured Arabic
numerals and minute track. The brushed-finish case measures
37.6 × 24.8 mm, and the crown is elegantly placed at 12 o’clock, true
to the original. Limited edition of 200 numbered pieces.
2. CARTIER Panthère Jewellery Watch. On a Toi & Moi bracelet,
Cartier’s emblematic panther, meticulously sculpted in three
dimensions, gazes at the petite dial of a quartz watch. In white
gold, the model sparkles with over 1,100 diamonds on both dial
and bracelet – pavé-set for the dial, snow-set for the bracelet.
The panther features emerald eyes and an onyx-spotted coat
using a technique unique to the Maison.
Art and mastery
KARIM DRICI | SENIOR VP - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER CARTIER