MANILA, Philippines — When Jake Gyllenhaal showed up at the Oscars, even Swifties/watch enthusiasts couldn’t help but reconcile with the All Too Well heartbreaker’s timepiece of choice. It’s rare, it’s elusive; it was made in 1922 but hasn’t been produced since 2004 — until this year. It’s a new Tank Chinoise.
Distinguished from other Tank incarnations by the slight protuberance of the horizontal bars at the top and bottom of the case — inspired by the porticos of East Asian temples — the Chinoise is just one of the big releases Cartier made on the first day of Watches & Wonders, the preeminent watch tradeshow.
We’re not just getting a reissue of an archive design. They will have a rectangular rather than a square case. One version out of two comes with open dials, framed by a rectilinear black and red lacquer inspired by windows found in traditional Chinese architecture (Chinoiserie was a big trend in the ’20s) so you can watch its 9627 MC skeleton movement. It beats to the rhythm of the 430 MC movement, which is currently the Maison’s finest mechanical movement.
The Chinoise’s revival is part of the Cartier Privé collection, a program that makes archival models new annually on its 100th anniversary. After the Crash, Tank Cintrée, Tonneau, Tank Asymétrique and Cloche Cartier watches, the Tank Chinoise watch will mark the sixth chapter of Cartier Privé.
A soft watch — yes, you read it right: Coussin de Cartier
Time is fleeting, immaterial, warped — and in the Coussin de Cartier, it is also shockingly, perfectly curved and padded and flexible to the touch. Yet the case’s unmistakable shine tells you it is entirely paved with diamonds or emeralds, tourmalines, tsavorites, and sapphires. How? Gold links that intertwine to weave a grid pattern allow the case to deform and retract to its original shape while being covered in a wide variety of diameters and shades of stones in Cartier’s newly-developed triangular setting where the diamonds can be directly integrated into the case without using the traditional grain setting.
The enigma: Masse Mystérieuse
On the Masse Mystérieuse watch, the hands float in the space of the case, without being connected to any gears. More than that: the whole movement also seems weightless. How?
It brings together two of Maison’s watchmaking signatures: the mysterious movement (because their hands appear to float over the transparent body of the clock) and the skeleton.
While mystery clocks go back about 150 years thanks to Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, a watchmaker who is also considered the forefather of modern magic, Monsieur Cartier reimagined them, not only miniaturized to fit a watch case but also to make the oscillating weight a real ornament. The rotor itself is skeletonized to make this moving spectacle visible. In the center, an ultra-sophisticated differential system —borrowed from the automotive industry — has been integrated into the movement to prevent the time display from being caught in the mass.
The conversation piece: Pasha de Cartier grille
Named to pay tribute to Pasha El Glaoui of Marrakesh, one of the Maison’s most loyal customers between 1920 and 1950 and a collector of watchmaking pieces, the Pasha de Cartier Grille is meant specifically to hype up the most exuberant of connoisseurs.
The protective grid over the dial (first seen in a collection from 1943) gives the watch a strong graphic look, now easily attachable and detachable thanks to a new system supported by four tiny clasps with a very complex spring to scale. It takes on the form of the Moonphase Pasha de Cartier and the skeleton Pasha de Cartier.
It girls love: Panthere de Cartier
A true-blue bijoux watch cherished by trendsetters from Caroline Bessette Kennedy to Bella Hadid since it was launched in 1983, there are four new versions in rose gold, yellow gold, and steel, with a silky dial in shades of golden plum, midnight blue, and black.
The crash returns: Métiers D’art
The new Crash is one of four Métiers D’art pieces, all drawing inspiration from Cartier’s menagerie, more precisely from the great animals of Africa: the panther, Cartier’s emblematic feline since 1914, the giraffe, and the zebra. The Crash, released in 1967, at the heart of Swinging London, is covered in enamel, marquetry, and gold bead granulation for 2022. The Ronde Louis Cartier comes in three iterations: first with the facing-off of the zebra and giraffe in marquetry and bead granulation; next is the Ronde Louis Cartier Gold Enamel Fragments And Gold Beads Watch depicting Cartier’s eternal muse, the panther; and the Ronde Louis Cartier Sparkling Panthère Marquetry Watch, literally turning Cartier’s emblematic panther on its head with golden marquetry.
Opposites attract: Indomptables De Cartier
Another unexpected animal encounter is the bejeweled Indomptables De Cartier, where a crocodile with brilliant-cut emerald scales and ruby cabochon eyes and a panther with pear-shaped emerald eyes and black spinel spots both share a singular concept of time.
Cool blue: Santos de Cartier
The pilot Alberto Santos-Dumont asked Louis Cartier for a watch he could fly with in 1904, and one of the first wristwatches was born. Now, the historic watch is a favorite among modern collectors like Tyler the Creator and Tom Holland. It looks frosted in lacquer and is especially cool with its bezel in blue PVD and dials in white or blue.
Revisiting an inspiration: Tank Louis Cartier
Tank, when you think of the Tank, is the Tank Louis Cartier, and it comes in two Art-Deco-inspired dials: Cartier red, and anthracite grey, a shade borrowed from the Cartier watchmaking palette. They appear monochrome at first glance but are in fact created with an innovative electrochemical engraving technique that allows for very high-precision markings: these almost invisible markings, carried out in different directions, recreate the graphic pattern featured on the dial of a Cartier Must watch from the 1980s. Instead of the 12 classic hour marks, just four remain and the rail track is absent to let this gradient shine.
A la Gloria Swanson: Cartier Libre
Cartier has always been about removing the barriers between watches and jewelry. Inspired by the spectacular rock-crystal and diamond bracelet created in the 1930s and worn by actress Gloria Swanson, this jewelry watch is entirely reversible — thanks to a flexible elasticated strap. On the front, it is a watch, and on the back, it is a bracelet, made possible with a series of triangular links running through it. The new triangular setting in the Coussin is also found here. A limited-edition piece, this fourth opus from the Cartier Libre collection is available in three versions based around Cartier's iconic color palette.
Ballon Bleu de Cartier
The Ballon Bleu de Cartier is reinterpreted for women in rose gold with a sunburst pattern and a diamond arrangement on the dials.
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In the Philippines, Cartier is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc., and is located at Greenbelt 4, Shangri-La Plaza, and Solaire Resort & Casino.