Reflection de Cartier
Reflection de Cartier
Image: Supplied

The platinum Cartier Santos-Dumont Rewind celebrates the 120th anniversary of the collection. By “looking back to move forward”, it is also a subtle gesture at “changing the course of time” by playfully messing with tradition and our linear constructs, which for centuries have tried to bring order to the natural bendy-stretchiness of time. Its calibre 320 MC —_a flipped version of the extra-thin 430 MC —_guides elegant lollypop hands counterclockwise across a rich carnelian dial, prompting us to reassess our temporality amid an existential crisis.

This ethos is at the core of Cartier’s “Magician” messaging under the perceptive counsel of Marie-Laure Cérède, creative director of watches and jewellery. I met Cérède earlier this year at Watches & Wonders Geneva, where we riffed on the role of a “magician” and finding magic in an age where we are so desperately in need of wonderment.

“It’s time to see things differently … maybe not a rewind but certainly a return to a slower pace,” says Cérède. Referencing the contented protagonist Hirayama in Wim Wenders’s meditative film Perfect Days who cleans public toilets for a living in Tokyo, Cérède says she is inspired by the beauty in nature and the everyday. Here, magic is about embracing the often-overlooked sensuality in the world and recognising the significance of the smallest of things, which usually appear banal. These twists on the everyday, and a good sense of humour, have informed the characteristics of the Cartier design language and are interpreted through iconic inventive shapes.

“We don’t need to look to an alternative universe when there’s beauty even in damaged nature. Even in architecture [that appears] grey and not so beautiful, there is something special — for example, as I’ve experienced with a round window turning slowly on itself like a solar eclipse,” she says, as we pass the glass display cabinet housing the magnificent Cartier Libre Polymorph ring with its articulated onyx-and-diamond-clad discs.

“In the creative world at Cartier, we need to deliver emotional beauty without forgetting what is happening in the world. When we speak about Cartier Magician, it’s not about creating a parallel world of poetry or fantasy; it’s more about sublimating time and reality. We emphasise products that evoke emotion and contemplation of time, finding the magic.”

Cartier Santos Dumont Rewind
Cartier Santos Dumont Rewind
Image: Supplied

As the pre-eminent creator of fine-jewellery watches, Cartier has excelled for a long time at reading the spirit of each epoch and setting rather than following trends. This year, the Cartier Libre Polymorph collection rejects binary thinking with jewellery and watches that are “free” of classification, assuming more than one form and the freedom to be worn or displayed as art, as you please.

Each piece has a “dual personality”, like luxury mini-Transformers. An expression of unbound creativity at Cartier, the Polymorph pieces are described by Cérède as “fun and fresh, with a touch of humour … each with a unique take on high jewellery with the time hidden inside”.

Cartier Libre Polymorph Panther Claw
Cartier Libre Polymorph Panther Claw
Image: Supplied

My favourite is a precious brooch in the form of a stylised panther claw that clips onto your lapel, cuff or pillow slip, if you’re so inclined. It is a charming pet of sorts, exquisitely crafted with four curved moonstones, snow-set diamonds, and hand-cut onyx. A miniature watch is revealed by pressing down on one of the gemstone claws. In another piece, the open-work modular structure of a gold bracelet explodes like a pin-cushion protea coming into bloom. A sartorial symbol of the women’s workforce during the Second World War, nothing is blue collar about the Polymorph “carabiner”. Instead, this diamond-paved hipster featuring rotating colourful bits and balls crafted in more diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, onyx, turquoise, and chrysoprase is more of an extravagant twist on a fob watch for a CEO.

Libre Polymorph “carabiner”
Libre Polymorph “carabiner”
Image: Supplied
Libre Polymorph “solar eclipse” ring
Libre Polymorph “solar eclipse” ring
Image: Supplied

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cérède says her creative process is dialectic, always involving her passionate team of experts at the maison. “Having the right idea is central, but it takes teamwork and technique to bring it to fruition,” she says. “We are always working with innovation, but you have to be patient and wait until you get what you want.” In 2021, Cérède transformed the Baignoire Allongée into a unique, futuristic second skin and named it The Mitten Watch: a gold-mesh glove featuring over 1 500 diamonds for extra allure. So, what does the future hold? “There are so many new technologies and industrial processes in jewellery and watchmaking that allow us to play and explore new designs like the Reflection [de Cartier] bangle in ways that we couldn’t before.”

Marie-Laure Cérède
Marie-Laure Cérède
Image: Jean-François Robert

Brain Eno describes the new role of musicians and artists in the digital age as “filters” in a kind of “cultural flow” rather than as creators in the traditional sense. According to the musical pioneer, “[the] artist is now much more seen as a connector” or sequencer. While innovation is part of their daily work, the team regularly look to the archives, which inspire pieces that connect past to present and present to future, often reimagining icons for a new generation.

Cérède explains that the Tortue monopusher chronograph from 1912 is the most emblematic signature of Cartier’s prowess with complications. With an industry-wide focus on high complications, it seems fitting that an evolution of the Tortue (French for tortoise or turtle) joins the Privé collection this year. Regarding its relevance, I’m also reminded of a discussion in 2021 with Pierre Rainero, Cartier’s director of image, heritage, and style, about the Libre Baignoire Turtle as a fitting design metaphor.

The turtle is a symbol of eternity in Chinese tradition and, in our fast-paced world, offers a different notion of time. “As a logical consequence,” says Rainero, “even more value and admiration is now given to the objects that require a lot of time to make, especially by hand.” Something is reassuring about objects made to last from one generation to the next.  

From the 2024 / 25 edition of Wanted Watches, Jewellery and Luxury.

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