Cartier is a testament that elegance comes in a multitude of shapes and sizes. For over a century and a half, the Parisian haute horlogerie and joaillerie maisons have embraced their penchant for reinventing the purist shapes of life into icons of sophistication. Founder, Louis-François Cartier expressed his vision of timekeeping through humble symmetries and geometric contrasts, creating a legacy of shapes and silhouettes truly eternal in nature.
Here’s a crash course on Cartier’s most recognizable and rarest shapes through time.
Early Shaping of Icons
Cartier’s journey began in 1853 with pocket watches, but at the beginning of the 20th century, World War I required watches to accompany them into military operations — Cartier was engaged in migrating the watch from pocket to wrist and created the Santos Dumont, named after Brazilian aviation pioneer. This was the world’s first wristwatch. Soon after, a collaboration between Louis Cartier and JLC’s Edmond Jaeger catapulted the Frenchman’s creativity with shapes. What followed was a flurry of icons like the Tonneau (1906), Tortue (1912), the Tank (1917), which took inspiration from the French force’s Renault Tank FT, and Cloche (1922), which was inspired and named after a bell. Mastering the art of balancing form with function, Cartier’s fleet of angular-cased watches became eternal icons of time, retaining their original silhouettes to date.
Cartier Santos – The Square That Took To The Skies
The Santos, introduced in 1904, resulted from an ergonomic aviation inconvenience brought to Louis Cartier’s attention by his close friend and Brazilian aviator, Alberto Santos-Dumont – the impracticality of using a pocket watch while flying. The Frenchman created a flat, square timekeeper with gently curved lugs that brought the same functionality of a pocket watch to the wrist. Unfortunately, the original 1904 creation was lost to history, but Cartier revived it in 1911 in an even bolder form. As the early 20th century was an artistic fiesta, the Santos embraced Art Deco elegance, setting a foundation for future innovations. The Santos is one of Cartier’s best-selling watches to date, retaining its signature original design: square case, eight screws, Roman numerals, and central railroad minute track.
Tonneau – The Curve That Dared
The Tonneau, introduced in 1906, was an early departure from the era’s traditional round watch designs, taking the form of an elongated barrel (tonneau meaning “barrel” in French), was Cartier’s early step into more experimental forms. Created when Art Nouveau was in full swing, the Tonneau embodied fluid lines and an elongated profile that contoured the wrist more naturally than circular cases. This bold design choice showcased Cartier’s forward-thinking approach and early step into more experimental forms. The Tonneau has evolved through the years but maintains its original DNA: Gentle curves, geometric ergonomics, and counter-culture boldness.
Tortue – Slow, Steady, Stylish
Completing Cartier’s trilogy of early 20th-century icons is the Tortue. As the Santos and Tonneau largely offered time-only simplicity, the Tortue housed a mono-pusher or minute repeater and a blend of their elegant, signature shapes. The Tortue (which translates to tortoise in French) lives and breathes style – the absence of the traditional chronograph pushers retains the purity of its harmonious curves. The Tortue’s appeal lay in its distinctive silhouette, which was both elegant and organic. It became one of the first Cartier watches made particularly for women, offering a softer, more refined alternative to its sister models’ angular cuts.
Tank – Inspired by French Army Tanks
Designed in 1917, the Tank was born from Louis Cartier’s admiration for the Renault military tanks used in World War I. Its rectangular case, brancards resembling tank treads, and clean lines starkly contrasted the curvilinear designs that dominated the era. The watch’s minimalist rectangular form, punctuated by Roman numerals, blue steel hands, and a railway minute track, exuded Cartier’s modernist philosophy. Over the decades, the Tank has seen various interpretations like the Cintree, Americaine, Asymétrique, and Francaise, but the aforementioned attributes remain central to its identity.
Ballon Bleu & Pasha De Cartier – Circles of Elegance
The Pasha, born in the 80s, was distinctly characterised by its round case, crown cabochon, three-six-nine-twelve dial configuration, but most importantly, its ‘T’ shaped Vendôme lugs. It classifies as a luxury sports watch cast in gold, steel, or both and arrives in 35 or 41-millimetre dimensions. Carrying this blend of elegance and performance into the modern era, Cartier created another circular wonder in 2007, but with tighter lugs, capped crown, and Roman indexes – introducing the Ballon Bleu. The timepiece’s name translates from French to “blue balloon,” referencing its perfectly round case and the sapphire cabochon crown that seems to float within the bezel.
Crash – A Melted Mystery
The origin story behind the Cartier Crash is the greatest mystery after the Sphinx. Created in the swinging Sixties as a stark departure from Cartier’s geometrically-obsessed style, the Crash is speculated to be inspired by a Baignoire that was deformed after a car crash — others believe it was influenced by Salvador Dali’s ‘Persistence of Memory’ featuring clocks melting like ice-cream in a scorched land. The Crash exudes non-conformity in design, characterized by its bold and avant-garde appearance. In our opinion, it’s more art than design.
Baignoire – The Oval
The Baignoire, meaning “bathtub” in French, was introduced in 1912, embodying Cartier’s mastery of creating icons from simple silhouettes. Its elongated, oval case shape, reminiscent of a bathtub, was designed to sit delicately on the wrist, offering a graceful alternative to the more structured models in its catalogue at the time, like the Santos or Tonneau. The Baignoire encapsulates the Art Deco period’s love of soft curves and simple elegance. Over the years, its design has been delicately refined and reimagined with Cartier’s undying flair of haute joaillerie, standing as a quintessential watchmaking expression of feminine beauty and luxury.
Coussin – Meet the Squircle
The Coussin, named after its cushion-like shape, offers a softer, more relaxed take on traditional square or rectangular cases. Hailing from the 70s, this model has continued to capture attention through generations as it materializes the intersection between structure and smoothness. The Coussin has seen plenty of reinterpretations through time, with its buffed-up bezel enriched with precious jewels.
Drive De Cartier – The Perfect Inbetween
At SIHH 2016, Cartier unveiled a brand-new line, the Drive De Cartier, featuring yet another interesting spin on two humble shapes: square and circle. The case was a perfect in-between the two silhouettes and went on to house a fleet of complications like date windows, tourbillons, moon phases, and power indicators. Its rudiments were clear: Roman indexes, railway markings and blue steel sword hands, which created a refined, masculine model in perfect proportions.
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