Cartier Unveils New Precious And Mysterious Collection Timepieces

1914, but the maison’s artisans find new ways to bring it to life with each new timepiece. This year, the three-dimensional Panthère Songeuse – which translates to the pensive panther – is perched atop the dial, deep in thought. It rests its head on its front paws, which languidly drape down the left side of the dial. The panther’s spots are rendered in blue sapphires or black lacquer, and each has emeralds for eyes and an onyx nose.

There are three versions – two jewelry watches with diamonds and one with champlevé enamel. The full-diamond version features sapphire spots and 9.15 carats of diamonds on the bracelet with an additional 4.57 carats on the case, dial, and panther.
 

For a little less bling, there is a diamond dial model on a black alligator strap. It is similar to the full-diamond iteration, but the leopard has black lacquer spots and has “just” 4.67 carats of diamonds.
 

Finally, the third model comes with a blue alligator strap, sapphire spots, 2.95 carats of diamonds, and a champlevé enamel case and dial. Only the most skilled artisans can work with champlevé enamel, and Cartier is one of the few brands with in-house artisans who work at the Maison des Métiers d’Art in La Chaux-de-Fonds. It takes four days to complete the enamel work on each dial. With the level of work required, it’s no surprise that the enamel watch is limited to 30 pieces.
 

Each watch features a quartz movement.

This special limited edition box set features three mysterious tourbillon timepieces in platinum: Rotonde de Cartier Astromystérieux, Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Astrotourbillon, and Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Skeleton Double Tourbillon. Cartier has been fascinated by mysterious “floating” movements since the maison first debuted the “Model A” clock in 1912. And this year, the house pairs its famous mysterious movement with skeleton calibers.
 

The mystery truly comes alive in the Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Skeleton Double Tourbillon. The upper half of the dial features Roman numerals acting as bridges. And in the center, there is a flying tourbillon that appears to be completely unsupported by and unconnected to the gear train. The flying tourbillon rotates every 60 seconds, with the tourbillon carriage rotating every five minutes – an optical effect achieved by cutting space inside the moving sapphire discs. Powered by the manufacture mechanical movement with manual winding 9565 MC, this 45mm timepiece comes on a green alligator strap and jade cabochon-set beaded crown.
 

These watches come in a stunning wood marquetry box featuring six different shades of wood. The background is a blue sunburst pattern, and there is an interlocking motif that recalls the symbol for infinity.