Each January, Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva is undoubtedly a highlight of the horological calendar. With each new edition, the SIHH has magnificently fulfilled its mission to present the very best fine watchmaking can offer, meaning its hyper luxury timepieces, in a welcoming and prestigiousenvironment. After twenty-five years, the SIHH 2015 will again be a source of wonderment.
2015 will also see Cartier present a range of innovations at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva. Let’s take a look at four of them.
Cartier Crash Squelette – The Crash Skeleton Watch, calibre 9618 MC – Fine Watchmaking and controlled extravagance
The Crash watch first appeared in London’s Cartier Boutique in 1967. A new interpretation was presented at the SIHH in 2013 and the Crash Squelette now sees the company create its first shaped movements: the calibre 9618 MC. It represents the starting point of the Mechanical Legends series. The collection was faced with a double challenge as the task was to develop the design as a standard for the case and movement.
The calibre 9618 MC is by no means a traditional movement simply altered to fit in the watchcase. It was conceived as an open movement right from the start and designed by the watchmakers with regard to the very best possible partitioning and aesthetics. The plates were shaped artistically and the movement in its entirety serves as a dial.
On account of the particular design and skeletting of the plates, the Crash Squelette movement displays a particularly extensive number of surfaces which were decorated using the techniques of Haute Horlogerie: satin finish on the steel components, angling and polishing the edges of the Roman numerals.
Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Tourbillon Lové timepiece
Following Pierre Cartier‘s first travels to Russia and his discovery of Fabergé, he subsequently introduced the art of guillochage to the Cartier ateliers. This decorative technique involves engraving lines and dots into the metal giving rise to geometric shapes. The work is then enamelled or simply left as it is. Cartier availed of exactly this technique for the new Rotonde de Cartier Tourbillon Lové thereby highlighting the flying tourbillon in a very particular manner.
One particular focus was attributed to the finishing of the 167 components. As for all Haute Horlogerie movements crafted by Cartier, each individual component of this mechanical movement
with manual wind offering a power reserve of 52 hours was refined by hand. Each component of the movement (calibre 9458 MC) featured a specific finish: angled bridges, elongated edges, polished screw heads and Côte de Genève ornamentation whose lines pick up on the guillochage technique displayed by the dial.
The entirety of this strictly regulated finishing process complies with the criteria of the Poinçon de Genève as a guarantee for the very finest craftsmanship in line with tradition.
Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Astrotourbillon Watch
Cartier presented the Rotonde de Cartier Astrotourbillon at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in 2010. The sensational dial swiftly became one of the most outstanding complications of the company’s Haute Horlogerie collection.
Cartier has reinterpreted this masterpiece for the SIHH 2015. The design has been reduced to the bare essentials with only the two Roman numerals 12 and 6 protruding. The fully skeletonised plate of the newly-designed 9461 MC manual-wind movement is exclusively based on these two Roman numerals – a characteristic feature of Cartier.
This masterpiece of watchmaking is limited to 100 units.
Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Annual Calendar Watch
Cartier’s repertoire has included an annual calendar since 2012. The Cartier manufactory has developed the calibre 9908 for the coming Salon. It permits winding of the movement, time and
date settings via the crown thereby ensuring optimum user convenience in everyday use.
The mechanical manufactory movement with a self-winding mechanism avails of a power reserve of 48 hours and is available in white gold and red gold.
