Cartier unveils unusual Privé Cloche watch doubling as a desk clock

 

In a universe traditionally dominated by round pieces, Cartier watches stand out thanks to their shape: square, rectangle or even elongated oval. After the Crash, the Tank Cintrée, the Tonneau and the Tank Asymétrique, the Cloche de Cartier watch is the fifth opus brought to you by Cartier Privé collection.

Cartier Privé is the collectors’ collection that celebrates and explores Cartier’s mythical models through numbered, limited edition watches.

This Cartier Privé Cloche creation is unusual in that it may be read whilst worn on the wrist and can additionally be removed and placed on a table to be transformed into a “desk clock”.

The “cloche” (bell) shape appeared in Cartier timepieces in 1920. “Cloche de Cartier”, because, when placed horizontally, its outline is reminiscent of a service bell rung at a counter. Like many Cartier signature pieces, it has been named after its shape, made notable for the purity of its line and clear inspiration.

“The Cloche de Cartier watch illustrates the Maison’s approach to shape, and how it is considered for its aesthetic but also by appreciating all of its possible evocations. It highlights the Maison’s talent at playing with simple shapes and revealing their aesthetic potential.” – Pierre Rainero, Director of Image, Style and Heritage at Cartier.

Two new calibres have had to be made at the Cartier Manufacture at La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland to adapt to the aesthetic imperatives imposed by this unique shape.

“A new functional architecture was therefore designed, to perfectly match that of the watch. Thanks to excellent cooperation, we were able to give priority to aesthetic emotion over technical perception in this new skeleton version.” – Marie-Laure Cérède, Director of Design for Watchmaking at Cartier.

This year, Cartier has chosen to apply one of its watchmaking signatures, the skeleton, to this iconic watch: a true technical feat in the field that involves adapting this complication to the watch’s atypical shape.

Three skeleton watch models complete this collection. While it showcases the immediacy of an entirely openworked dial, it required the Manufacture 1917 mechanical movement to be completely reworked into a very fine network of gears, visible through the transparent Roman numerals, now transformed into bridges. It is now known as the 9626 Cartier Manufacture movement. In the platinum version, the winding crown is set with a ruby cabochon.