Results for Cartier

The Cartier Tortue: A Case for Elegance

Chanel’s Chessboard is a Modern Métiers d’Art Masterpiece

Chanel christened its watch collection for the year “Coco Game”, a theme that informs the pixellated video game motifs found on some watches and also the flagship creation that is the endgame as such things go. The Chessboard is self descriptive, but it is much more than an 8×8 board with 32 chess pieces. A one-off creation that is already sold, the Chessboard is impressive by the numbers alone: 1.5 kg of gold, 110 carats of diamonds, and a retail price of over US$4 million. But where is the watch you might ask? There are two: each of the queens is actually a pendant watch with a tiny dial on its base, and the set is delivered with a single chain for the winner to wear a pendant watch. The queen takes the form of Coco Chanel dressed in the brand’s signature tweed suit Initial thoughts I’ve always been a fan of Chanel’s impossibly extravagant objet d’art, which in past years have ranged from a musical automaton clock to a planetarium-clock. This year’s one-off creation trumps them all in scale, complexity, decoration, and of course price. In tangible terms, the Chessboard is clearly a trophy for the home or office, or a game board for a wealthy chess fan. Ridiculously lavish board games and toys have a long history — jewellers like Faberge and Cartier made such items in times past. In fact, some of Faberge’s fabled Imperial Easter Eggs contained surprises that were actually tiny toys. The Chessboard, however, is distinctively 21st century in both material...

Max Maertens Dishes on His Creative Process in Designing the New MB&F; HM12

I first met Max Maertens at Dubai Watch Week last year. The young designer already has a storied career under his belt, working on projects with brands like Chopard, Vacheron Constantin, Cartier, and MB&F;, where he started out as an intern. Here, something clicked. For several years, Maertens firmly fell in the “F” or “friends” category of the brand, collaborating with MB&F; and L’Epée on the T-Rex clock before being given free rein to create the TriPod and the Orb. But his legacy with MB&F; is only just getting started. Through these projects on several horological objects, the brand’s founder Max Busser saw something special and took him under his wing as his protégé and future successor. Today, we see Maertens’ first take on a more traditional MB&F; wristwatch – well…. sort of. Making its grand entrance is the HM12 Guardian, the next chapter in the brand’s horological machines. It started with a “simple” brief (though we all know, nothing MB&F; does is simple. “I was in Max’s office, and he said to me, ‘wouldn’t it be cool to create a watch that’s also a robot’s head?’ And somehow, immediately in that moment, a vision popped in my mind of how it should look,” recalls Maertens. “In the end, I would say this final concept of the HM12 is about 80% of what I had in my mind from that first idea.” Yes, the concept still originated from the mind of Busser himself, but the design of the new HM12 Guardian – a wristwatch with a “very...

Hands-On With Cartier’s Most Versatile Santos de Cartier Yet?

I take Cartier’s titanium version of the Santos de Cartier hands-on to see if it really is the more versatile option in the brand’s signature collection. What We Love: A fresh take on a Cartier icon Much more suited as a daily wearer Light, robust and still has a sense of elegance What We Don’t: No open caseback for the 1847 MC movement Price point may feel high compared to other sports watches that also showcase movement Would love to see more dial colours for variation Overall Rating: 8.5/10 Value for Money: 8/10 Wearability: 9/10 Design: 8.5/10 Build Quality: 9/10 It’s not every day that we see Cartier venture outside the norm with the Santos de Cartier collection. For years, this collection has been one of the more appealing sporty-dressy everyday watches on the market, bringing together sporty proportions, a clean dial aesthetic, and a bracelet design that wraps beautifully around the wrist. But what has made it such a standout and appealing choice is that unmistakable Cartier charm: refined, instantly recognisable, and versatile enough to sit somewhere between a sports watch with dressy appeal and a daily wearer. The Santos’s history goes all the way back to 1904. As the story goes, Louis Cartier created a wristwatch for his friend, Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, who needed a practical way to tell the time while flying. Rather than having to reach for a pocket watch mid-flight, which was the norm at the time, Santos-Dumont wanted something tha...

Bring a Loupe: A Cartier Platinum Pocket Watch, A Gilt Rolex Explorer, An Omega Railmaster, And A Broad Arrow Polerouter

June's upon us, everyone, and while technically it's still spring, let's all agree to go ahead and round up to summer right now. You're salivating for beach time, or checking the market for pointers about what to do regarding the SpaceX IPO, or you couldn't care about either, and your full attention is on what seems likely to be a wildly excellent NBA finals. Regardless of where your attention's generally pointed, let's look at some watches together before you're whisked off to full weekend mode. Scorekeeping last week's picks, the Universal Geneve Super went for a mere €550, the Movado for CHF 2,600, the Rotary Compressor for £350, while the Rolex Submariner Ref 16800 somehow sold for only $60,000 HKD ($7,655). The Louis Vuitton Monterey II also sold. Strays Photo courtesy FauveParis. No-name skin divers will always get under my skin, and this week there's this sweet-looking Allaine. Or are you after an overwhelmingly 1980s quartz perpetual calendar from Corum? As you wish. How about an extraordinarily clean manual-wind Seamaster dress watch? Get it. Someone, please bid on this and *also* pay once you've won: this Autavia has popped up thrice over the last two months, and certainly one of you has a soft spot for modular chronograph movements that'll lead your favorite watchmaker to curse you, right? A Heuer triple calendar in 14k gold, perhaps? Ta da. A fantastic Jaeger-LeCoultre? Have at it. Finally, I don't know if this Omega Speedmaster 145.022 is actually NOS, but ...

Business News: Secondary Market Prices Climb, James Marks Jumps To Sotheby’s, Christie’s Grabs Cartier Watch Record

Summer shows no signs of slowing down - it's been a busy few weeks in the watch industry. Secondary market prices have posted gains for three consecutive quarters, the first sustained climb since 2022, suggesting the market may finally be stabilizing after the post-pandemic boom and correction. In the auction world, a veteran executive has made a high-profile move from Phillips to Sotheby's, and Christie's has just claimed the record for the most expensive Cartier wristwatch ever sold - a title that changed hands twice in the span of a few weeks. Here's a round-up of some of the latest business stories from around the industry. Secondary Market Watch Prices On A Winning Streak After years of declines, prices on the secondary watch market are stabilizing and have posted gains of more than 1% for three consecutive quarters, according to an analyst report from Morgan Stanley and WatchCharts. An index of pre-owned watch prices compiled by WatchCharts rose 1.9% in the first three months of the year from the previous quarter, led by gains from a wide swath of brands including Longines, Patek Philippe, and Zenith, the data shows.  It's the first time since 2022 that prices have climbed significantly for an extended period. The results suggest a broad recovery in secondary market values, driven by rising primary market prices, tariffs on watches entering the U.S., and increased confidence and interest in the pre-owned premium watch market.  The gains were broad-based, with 25 of...

Does Cartier’s Tank Américaine Live Up To The Legacy? (Review)

The short answer: Yes! The Cartier Tank Américaine is a standout watch that looks and feels a lot more versatile than it lets on. Let’s find out why! What We Love: A versatile yet elegant design A sportier remix of a legendary icon Wears comfortably on the leather strap What We Don’t: Readability suffers in the first and third quarters The crown is small and fiddly Where’s the display caseback? Overall Rating: 8.5/10 Value for Money: 8/10 Wearability: 9/10 Design: 9/10 Build Quality: 8/10 I think that, since I began working at WatchAdvice, my opinion on Cartier has changed the least. I’d already heard so much about it from every corner of culture; rap songs and rom-coms sing equal praise of the Parisian powerhouse. So, when this opportunity came along, it simply allowed me to get closer to a brand I had already learned to appreciate. With closeness, though, comes closer scrutiny. Cartier bears the weight of a rich legacy on its shoulders, and even the smallest deviation can have Cartier fans questioning their loyalty. Its model lines, in both jewellery and watchmaking, have become so iconic that remixing them is a massive risk. Getting it wrong, depending on who you ask, is intolerable. These are the stakes Cartier faces with the Tank Américaine. How could they possibly change the formula of such a universally popular watch collection while preserving the original DNA? That’s what I aimed to find out when I took the Tank Américaine for a spin some time ago...

Hands-On With The New Cartier Santos-Dumont In Full Gold Or Platinum With A Bracelet

At Watches and Wonders, we see many watches, of course. It’s actually not the best place to see watches, though. During the “touch & try” sessions, watches are passed around quickly as everyone tries to take as many pictures as possible. Cartier is notoriously one of the most watch-heavy sessions, as the brand usually presents […] Visit Hands-On With The New Cartier Santos-Dumont In Full Gold Or Platinum With A Bracelet to read the full article.

Cartier Santos Collection Review: The Evolution of the First Men's Wristwatch

Breaking down the legacy of Cartier Santos, from its aviation roots to its ever-relevant positioning in today's watchmaking landscape.

Audemars Piguet and Swatch send the watch world crazy, Cartier quietly opens a new space in Sydney, while Rolex drops a new doc instead of a watch

There’s nothing like a good Swatch release to turn the watch world upside down, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen this week. Fresh after our brilliant British Weekender in NYC, where watches were firmly on enthusiasts’ minds, Audemars Piguet and Swatch decided to bring watches into the forefront for everyone, announcing a new collaboration that everyone, … Continued

Business News: The Importance Of Being Cartier

Among top-level, mainstream Swiss-made watch brands, few can match Cartier's performance over the last half-decade. The Paris-based jewelry marque has vaulted ever higher to become the second biggest watch brand by sales, according to analyst estimates from both Vontobel and Morgan Stanley. While the jewelry unit of Cartier remains its primary driver, analysts say estimated sales from the watch division grew about 10% in 2025 to exceed CHF 3 billion, up from less than CHF 2 billion in 2019. What's perhaps more notable is the performance of Cartier's watch division relative to the broader market. As most brands have surfed the undulating wave of the post-COVID boom, followed by a downturn in demand, Cartier's watch unit has outpaced the market while remaining relatively affordable and accessible, with prices averaging about CHF 6,000 per watch and implementing lower price increases than most competitors, according to analysts. That has allowed Cartier to consolidate its position as one of just a handful of high-volume, long-established, and approachable-priced brands that are top choices on mainstream watch consumers' want lists, particularly among younger buyers.  Tortue Chronographe Monopoussoir with oversized "XII". At the same time, Cartier has also grown in standing among watch enthusiasts and collectors, with prices for models on the secondary market gaining 8.6% in a year, according to WatchCharts.com's Cartier index. Auction results for vintage pieces have performe...

Fratello’s Top 5 Alternatives To The Cartier Tank Louis Cartier

Another Friday, another list. This week, we search for the best alternatives to the classic Cartier Tank Louis Cartier. This industry icon dates back to 1922 and has become one of the most imitated watches in the world. That’s more than enough reason to look at a list of five alternatives that didn’t just copy […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Alternatives To The Cartier Tank Louis Cartier to read the full article.

Jorg’s Favorite Watches And Wonders 2026 Releases - Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin, And More

Picking highlights from this year’s Watches and Wonders is tough, as always. Once again, it’s more a matter of abundance rather than a lack thereof. But somehow, Watches and Wonders 2026 felt different compared to last year. It was more about consolidation than big technological innovations or grand anniversaries. Nevertheless, there was an avalanche of […] Visit Jorg’s Favorite Watches And Wonders 2026 Releases — Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin, And More to read the full article.

Cartier Highlights Some Luxurious Bracelets with their Watches & Wonders Releases

The Cartier appointment at Watches & Wonders this year was, as always, a dizzying experience. The incredible breadth of the collection is unlike anything you’ll see at Palexpo during Watches & Wonders week, and it always amazes me how freely these incredibly valuable, intricate creations are freely passed around a table of watch media types to handle, photograph, and try on. It would be absolutely impossible to run down everything we were shown in our meeting, but I keep coming back to a selection of releases that zero in on Cartier’s unique bracelet making capabilities.  This is not something I normally expect from Cartier, but maybe I should. I think for the most part we recognize Cartier as masters of design and shape – there have been so many great case designs over the brand’s history it’s impossible to recount them all here. Some have become genuinely iconic and some have been a bit lost to history, but their ingenuity and creativity is second to none and they have the reputation they deserve as a design first brand for good reason.  In our mind’s eye, collectively, we typically see these watches on straps. But for certain references a bracelet is key to understanding not just the visual design language, but in how these watches wear. Because a great bracelet doesn’t complete the look of a watch, it makes or breaks the experience of having it on your wrist, and can take a watch from being a beautiful design object to something you’d actually want to...

Auctions: Our Massive 2026 Geneva Spring Auctions Preview: Phillips and Antiquorum To Kick Things Off (Part 1 - Live Pics)

It's time for the Geneva spring auctions, the premier venue for the biggest lots and market-moving of the year. That's not to say that Hong Kong (which sometimes comes before, sometimes comes after) or New York (which rounds out the season) won't have some big lots. Sotheby's Hong Kong sale—which we covered previously—closed over the weekend with an absolutely shockingly great result, with massive prices across the board, especially for Cartier. The final total? $52,875,885, which is more than $10 million more than their previous record.  That included nearly $2 million for a Cartier London Crash, a London Tank Asymétrique went for a surprising $750,000, a skeletonized Baignoire was just shy of a million at $950,000—and that doesn't count things like the $1.96 million for a unique single-button Patek chronograph or $1.5 million for a "John Player Special" Daytona. Truly remarkable results up and down the board. Which begs the question: do we think crazy prices for Cartier will hold long term, or was it just excitement for the first round of sales? 8.3%Checking in on other results, the Monaco Legend Auction sold 98.3% of their lots for a total sale of €26,471,620. Big results include €2.106 million for a unique doré-dialed Patek 3448 “Padellone,” €1.88 million for a unique platinum Daytona, and €390,000 for a Cartier Tank à Guichets that was made in 3 examples, among some other solid results. A unique woven Cartier ”Pebble” did massively well as at...

First Look - The New, Smaller Generation of Santos de Cartier Chronograph

In Cartier‘s current collection, the name Santos refers to the related yet distinct collections. On one side is the Santos-Dumont, a thin, elegant, shaped watch that directly connects to the origins of the name, when Cartier created what was one of the first timepieces for pilots (the emblematic 1904 Santos made for aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont). […]

Bring a Loupe: A White-Gold Vacheron Constantin, An IWC Mark XII, And A Cartier Bamboo Coussin

It was bound to happen. I've written nine Bring a Loupes, covering 38 watches (excluding Strays or Buyer Beware watches). Two weeks back, I picked a clunker of a Doxa Sub 300T, which, among other issues, had the wrong hands (I'd actually been more concerned with the dial), and in my enthusiasm for vintage Doxa divers, I screwed up and included it. My apologies, though, as Coleman Hawkins consoles, "If you aren't making mistakes, you aren't really trying." Scorekeeping the picks from two weeks ago, the Esso Breguet sold for €15,2000, the Juvenia Arithmo's still available, the Blancpain Bund sold for €15,500, the Doxa Sub 300T passed, the Chaumet sells Friday afternoon and has been bid to $12,000 at the time of writing, and the black dialed Seamaster sold for CHF 1,000. Strays A Universal Genève Railrouter. For sale on OmegaForums. A Gübelin Cioccolatone at Monaco Legend this weekend. For absolutely no reason whatsoever, here's a lovely Doxa Sub 300. As Stefon (from SNL) would say, this watch has it all: original (correct!) black hands, no-T dial, signed expandro bracelet and screw-down crown, and, of course, the OG thin case. These early thin-cased Doxa Sub 300s were made for only a year, and aside from minor paint loss on the bezel, this looks like an excellent example. If the Doxa's not your flavor and/or diving's not your bag, maybe this UG Railrouter'll do it for you. I have an overdeveloped fondness for railroad watches, which fondness is equaled by my appreciati...

Cartier Watches and Wonders 2026: Our TOP 5 picks (from 70 releases!)

This year, they trimmed it back — "only" 70 SKUs. And yet, somehow, we still had to fight to keep our TOP Cartier watches list to five.

The Cartier Santos de Cartier Chronograph get a major upgrade in 2026

First Look - Cartier Unveils a Trilogy of Santos-Dumont with Precious Metal Bracelets

As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. In 1904, Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont approached Louis Cartier, complaining that pocket watches were impractical in flight – he needed both hands on the controls. Louis Cartier’s solution not only marked the birth of an icon but is also widely considered the first purpose-built men’s wristwatch. […]

Live from WWG26: highlights of the new releases from Cartier

Cartier, the manufacture of shapes flexed their muscles in this year’s WWG26 releases. We picked 4 our favourites as the highlights.

First Look - The New Cartier Privé Crash Skeleton in Platinum

The iconic distorted profile of the Cartier Crash returns in 2026 as part of a trio of emblematic shaped watches in the Cartier Privé – Les Opus annual capsule. Cartier has selected the Tank Normale, the Tortue Chronographe Monopoussoir, and the Crash Squelette as candidates for its 10th Opus, all revisited in platinum cases, a […]

Introducing: The New Cartier Santos-Dumont Brings An Elegant Metal Bracelet And Obsidian Stone Dial To The Collection

A new black obsidian dial and 15-link bracelet upscale the LM size model, available in yellow gold and platinum.

Introducing: The Cartier Roadster Returns

The streamlined, curvy, automotive-inspired model is back after a 14 year hiatus. Here's what's new.

First Look - The Cartier Privé Tortue Monopoussoir Returns with CPCP-Inspired XII Dial

Among other watches presented in Geneva this week, Cartier unveils a new interpretation of one of the brand’s celebrated models, the Tortue Monopoussoir Chronograph, to expand its highly desirable Cartier Privé collection. Following the model’s praised return in 2024, the brand introduces a platinum edition with a dial inspired by the Collection Privée Cartier Paris […]

Introducing: Cartier Celebrates 10 Editions of Privé With Six New Editions

A surprising best-of Privé run featuring two separate trios of watches.

Cartier’s Santos-Dumont Gains a Fine Mesh-Link Bracelet

Cartier’s debuts at Watches & Wonders 2026 include notable crowd pleasers, with a standout being the Santos-Dumont LM with a mesh-link bracelet in matching precious metal. Inspired by watch bracelets of the 1920s, the new bracelet is 15 links across with each link just 1.15 mm high, making it supple and ergonomic. Very much catering to fad for such bracelets, it is also removable and sports a double-folding clasp. The new Santos-Dumont models themselves are cosmetic variations of the existing model, with the most unusual being the yellow gold version with a dial of obsidian, which is volanic glass. Initial thoughts The new Santos-Dumont pairs the familiar square watch with an appropriately retro mesh-link bracelet that fits the design perfectly. Like the Les Opus trio, this Santos-Dumont trio isn’t imaginative or novel, but it is executed well and has tactile appeal. Both the clasp and flush-fit end links that continue the link pattern are a pleasing touch. In some ways the bracelet is perhaps more fitting for the model given its history as an aviator’s watch, although the Santos-Dumont now is very much a dress watch in the modern sense of the term. The commercial success of 2023’s Tank Normale with a bracelet probably helped convince Cartier that such bracelets are a winner, despite the substantial cost of a precious metal bracelet today. That said, the new Santos-Dumont on a bracelet is pricey but not outrageously so. It starts at €44,400 in yellow gold and ris...

Cartier Privé Les Opus is a Trio of Greatest Hits

Cartier’s crowd favourite Privé line is now 10 years old and the jeweller is returning to its greatest hits for the occasion with two offerings, the first being the flagship Cartier Privé Les Opus. “Opus” is a trio of watches, all in platinum, each being of the most desirable models in the Privé collection – Tank Normale, Tortue Chronographe Monopoussoir, and Crash Squelette. Both the Tank Normale and Tortue Monopoussoir are variants of earlier models, retaining the same case and movement as before, but now with silvered dials featuring red markings. The Crash skeleton, on the other hand, is a new model powered by a new calibre, the 1967 MC, a hand-wind movement with hand hammered bridges. The Crash skeleton is limited to 150 pieces, while the other two models are regular production The second anniversary trio is Cartier Privé La Collection, yet another trio of greatest hits, but in yellow gold and not limited edition, which we’ll detail in another story. Cartier Privé La Collection made up of the Tank Cintree, Tank Normale, and Cloche Initial thoughts It is now a given that Cartier will mine its rich archive for new launches and Les Opus is exactly that. Given the strength of Cartier’s iconic designs, all three watches in the collection are appealing, with the Crash being a little more novel than its siblings in the line-up thanks to its skeleton movement. None of the three watches win any awards for imagination or innovation, but that is arguably besides...

First Look - The Comeback of the Cartier Roadster Collection

Brands are fully aware that mechanically minded car enthusiasts tend to appreciate mechanical watches, leading to countless sponsorship gestures and collaborations. After a 14-year hiatus, Cartier is set to delight petrolheads with the return of its automotive-inspired Roadster. Renowned as the master of shaped watches, Cartier’s curvaceous, streamlined Roadster has been refined by a team […]

Cartier releases new large Santos-Dumont models with metal bracelets and in-house mechanical movements

An update to the dressy pilot's watch from Cartier brings a slinky new bracelet and a deep stone dial option.The post Cartier releases new large Santos-Dumont models with metal bracelets and in-house mechanical movements appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.