Change the World: Cartier Presents Big Updates to the Privé, Santos-Dumont, and Baignoire Collections at Watches & Wonders 2023

We always look forward to Cartier’s presentation at Watches & Wonders because the brand never fails to come prepared with a rare mix of iconic heritage pieces and fantastical designs. And even though the brand has tremendous name recognition in the luxury world, Cartier also has economically attainable models.

As always, Cartier presented a bunch of options at Watches & Wonders 2023, and from entry-level to opulent, we love them all. But today, we’re focusing on three signature collections: the Privé, the Santos-Dumont, and the Baignoire.

Cartier’s official brand history references the maison’s quality and timelessness. And in the last decade, watchmakers have been digging deep into their archives to build brand awareness. Cartier, of course, does heritage a little differently.

To wit: every year, the brand adds a rare watch to its Cartier Privé collection. And this year, Cartier Privé is revealing its seventh collection in this series: the Tank Normale.
 

Created in 1917 by Louis Cartier and launched two years later, the Tank is one of the most recognizable creations in watchmaking history. So, for 2023, the brand is adding to the Tank’s horological bona fides with seven heavenly new editions, including three skeletonized models with a 24-hour complication marked by a sun and crescent moon.

In practice, that means while the minute hand turns around the dial in one hour, as per usual, the hour hand takes 24 hours to make a complete revolution instead of 12. As a result, the daytime hours are on the upper half of the dial around the stylized sun, and the nighttime hours surround the skeletonized moon on the lower half.
 

You’d think these complications might render the Tank unrecognizable, but Cartier has craftily kept the Tank’s most iconic design codes, using the proportions and beveled sapphire crystal of the original. And overall, these additions to the collection also feature emblematic touches such as blued hands, a cabochon on the winding crown, and, on the non-skeletonized, hour/minute versions of the Tank Normale, railroad tracks and a secret signature.
 

The hour/minute Tank Normale also pays homage to the many iterations of this rectangular watch. So, in tribute to the disco days, these new hour/minute models are available in yellow gold on either an alligator strap or a yellow gold bracelet or in platinum on a black alligator strap or a platinum bracelet. The bracelets are also satin and polished finished, evoking a very 1970s spirit.
 

The skeletonized Privé Tank Normale is limited to 50 numbered pieces and comes in two versions: a yellow gold model on a brown and green alligator strap with a blue sapphire cabochon on the winding crown and a platinum iteration on a burgundy and grey alligator strap with a ruby cabochon.
 

Meanwhile, an even more limited edition (only 20 numbered pieces) of the skeletonized model is set with brilliant-cut diamonds and presented on an alligator strap in two shades of blue.