【Geneva, Swit】Cartier Revives a 100-Year-Old Watch Resembling a Turtle Shell… New Watches Unveiled This Year [The High-End]

Cartier unveiled its new products under the overarching theme of ‘Magic’ at the Watches and Wonders watch fair held in Geneva. The collection is diverse, ranging from dress watches to jeweled women’s jewelry watches.

Most of this year’s entries follow this theme. The ‘Cartier Privé Tortue’ watch, resembling a turtle shell, awakens the collecting desires of watch enthusiasts. The ‘Santos-Dumont Rewind Watch’, featuring counter-clockwise hands, and the ‘Animal Jewelry Watch’, which uses gemstones to express the vibrant forms of wild animals, stimulate people’s imagination.
These new watches share a common denominator: they are crafted based on artisanal skill and innovative technology. They also contain interesting narratives. Adding emotion to a watch with its complex assembly of tiny components is no easy task.

Cartier Privé is a collection that annually releases modern reinterpretations of the brand’s iconic models. Each watch is assigned a unique serial number and produced in limited quantities, making them coveted collectibles for watch aficionados. The star of the eighth Cartier Privé collection is the Tortue (French for ‘turtle’), which first saw the light of day in 1912. It is another creation by Louis Cartier, who designed most of the brand’s representative watches like the Tank, Santos, and Baignoire.

The Tortue unveiled in 2024 is released in two versions: a time-only version with only hour and minute hands, and a Monopoussoir Chronograph version. The Monopoussoir Chronograph uses a single crown to handle the chronograph function for timing, time setting, and winding for power supply. Cartier newly developed the manual-winding chronograph Caliber 1928 MC, which is 4.3mm thick, for the launch of the new ‘Tortue Monopoussoir Chronograph’. Developed in a tonneau (barrel-shaped) form to fit the turtle shell-like watch case, its development alone took three years.
The dial, featuring a 30-minute counter and small seconds sub-dial, incorporates key design codes from models introduced in the 1920s. The apple-shaped blue steel hands and the rail track placed at the edge of the Roman numeral indices continue the elegant atmosphere of the original model. The case material comes in two options: platinum and yellow gold.
The time-only ‘Tortue Watch’, which gives the impression of being directly transplanted from the 1912 original model to the present day, is presented in three versions: platinum, platinum set with diamonds, and yellow gold. It houses the manual-winding Caliber 430 MC, which is 2.1mm thick, and the case surrounding it is also slim at 7.2mm. This lineup is also a limited production model with unique serial numbers.

This watch is perfectly suited for this year’s ‘Magic’ theme. The Roman numerals serving as indices on the dial are written backwards. The hands also rotate counter-clockwise. To break the stereotype that watch hands must always move clockwise, Cartier reversed parts of the gear train, including the winding wheel. This is why ‘Rewind’, meaning to wind back, is included in the watch’s name.
Reflecting its originality, the rare material platinum is used for the case. The red-colored dial is made by thinly cutting carnelian gemstones. It is limited to 200 pieces, each with a unique serial number.

This is a new model from Santos de Cartier featuring a dual time function that allows one to know the time in two places simultaneously. A small display at the 6 o’clock position shows the home time, making it a useful model for frequent travelers or businesspeople.
Despite the added functionality, the masculine charm of the Santos de Cartier collection remains intact. One can identify Cartier’s signature design codes such as Roman numeral indices, a rail-style minute track, and sword-shaped hands. The dial color is anthracite with a grayish hue. It features a satin-brushed sunburst finish inspired by the spreading rays of sunlight. Thanks to the QuickSwitch system, the bracelet can be easily changed without any tools. An additional alligator leather strap is provided. The case material is steel, and it is water-resistant up to 100 meters.

Since decorating a case with a panda’s spots in 1914, animal motifs have become a means of showcasing Cartier’s creativity in watchmaking. This year, Cartier presents a variety of high jewelry watches embodying the strong images of wild animals such as pandas, crocodiles, and tigers. A representative piece is the oval-shaped jewelry watch encircling a diamond-shaped dial.
At first glance, it’s difficult to discern which animal it represents. It resembles the dazzling stripes of a zebra, yet also looks like the scales of a crocodile wrapped around the dial. It is the result of Cartier’s imagination. Diamonds and tsavorite garnets are densely set on a white gold case, and the zebra stripes are made of lacquer hand-painted by artisans.
There is also a jewelry watch that realistically depicts a crocodile. A diamond-adorned crocodile wraps around a case made of sapphire, mother-of-pearl, diamonds, and champlevé enamel. The crocodile’s eyes, which give a lifelike impression, are cabochon-cut emeralds.

There are gaps between each link, allowing light to pass through when worn on the wrist. The numerous facets maximize the sparkle. The case material comes in various options, including yellow or pink gold, and white gold set with diamonds. It is a concrete result showcasing the brand’s will to create watches in various forms.