Reading Time: 4 minutes

Last month, LuxuryActivist was at SIHH in Geneva. It is the international Haute-Horlogerie show for professionals. It is organized by The Richemont Group. All Brands from Roger Dubuis, Montblanc, Baume & Mercier, Jaeger Le-Coultre or Cartier were of course present. They all revealed amazing creations and some of them will probably be the highlights of this year. We were quite impressed by Cartier’s philosophy of bringing small details into superlatives. It means, that every single detail was taken care of in the most truly and prestigious way. The luxury Watchmaking industry concentrates the most amazing companies in the world. Precision is not only a matter of “giving the time”. It is also a matter of purpose, of bringing an idea to the perfect execution. And Cartier is definitely one of this companies in which details go beyond perfection.

The Watchmaking industry, innovation since the babylonians

Horology comes from the greek horologium, which means the study of time. Since the babylonians, we observed the stars and the planets and we observed time passing by. 4000 years ago, men divided time in 12 equal periods and since them the bases of watchmaking were founded.
Despite the fact most of big innovations were invented more than 100 years ago, Swiss Watch-makers never sleep. From new ways of interpretation of existing innovations like the Tourbillon, the Art craftmanship or new mouvements, every year we discover new wonders.

Cartier, Watch-makers since 1847

Cartier is a company one-of-a-kind. Since it’s creation by Louis-François Cartier, all principles of the brand were settled. And when in 1904, Mr. Cartier’s friend, the aviator Santos Dumont, complained to his friend that pocket watches were not practical while flying… Well the wrist-watch was invented.

20140127-072817.jpg
And that was just the beginning as Cartier settled a consistent Watch making business made of innovation, quality and elegance.

Cartier path into innovation and luxury

Ever since Cartier started its Watch business, the path of innovation was written in the Brand DNA. But more than innovation, we should describe it as the path towards perfection. In every single detail of a Cartier watch you can see and feel the amount of hours spent to make the sublime and the astonishment.
Here below are the different collections of the Brand.

Masculine collections

cartier-ballon-bleu

  • Ballon Bleu de Cartier
  • Tank
  • Calibre de Cartier
  • Santos
  • Rotonde
  • Ronde Louis Cartier
  • Ronde Solo de Cartier

Feminine collections

tank-francaise

  • Tank
  • Ballon Bleu de Cartier
  • Baignoire
  • Pasha de Cartier
  • Santos de Cartier
  • Crash
  • Montres Joiallières créatives

Here are some key dates in terms of innovation (list non-exhaustive).

  • 1905: the first ever Wrist-Watch
  • 1909: invention of the deployment clasp for Wrist-watches.
  • 1921: launch of the Tank watch, with its very original shape inspired by the real Allies tanks of WWI.
  • 1926: the “Baguette” watch
  • 1931: The Mystery pocket watch
  • 1932: the Tank Basculante watch
  • 1936: the Tank Asymetric watch
  • 1967: creation of new watches including the Crashwatch
  • 1985: creation of the Pasha watch
  • 1989: First exhibition “L’Art de Cartier” in Paris.
  • 1995: Creation of the Cartier Pasha C
  • 1996: Cartier Tank Française
  • 2002: Cartier Roadster is launched< \li>
  • 2004: Cartier launched the Santos 100
  • 2007: creation of Cartier’s Manufacture
  • 2008: the first Geneva Seal watch
  • 2010: launch of the ID One

2014, Cartier is still leading innovation.

When we met Cartier during the 2014 SIHH, we could see and feel that innovation is still one of the main motivation of the house and it keeps their flame of creativity burning after all these years. With 29 own mouvements, some of them with amazing complications and unique customization, Cartier is today a leader in the Watch-making industry.

Cartier-Rotonde-Perpetual-Calendar-Chrono-Rose-Gold-Chocolate-Caliber
Cartier Rotonde Perpetual Calendar Caliber

Something in which they are very strong is the preservation of hand-craftmanship. In deed several hand-made activities surround Cartier’s Timepieces. From manual engraving, enflammage, Wood and Floral Marqueterie and Precious stones sertissage, Cartier is at the state of the Art. Here is one of their videos about these hand-made activities.

Cartier is for sure symbol of luxury and exclusivity. Once you live the experience of buying a Cartier Timepiece, you will never forget it.

20140203-074922.jpg

LA

 

Info sourced at Cartier official website and release SIHH2014. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available.