AN UNCOMPROMISING FEATURE: THE LINE IS CLEAN AND PRECISE.
This radical concept, conceived by one of the only Maisons capable of designing creations that form a unique collection of cult jewellery and watchmaking designs, will become Cartier’s signature.
Tank, Trinity, Juste un Clou, Santos, Love, Panthère or Ballon Bleu, instantly recognisable, these collections are based on four main principles of creation: the purity of the line, the accuracy of the shape, the precision of proportions, the precious details
THE PURITY OF THE LINE
is Cartier’s desire to reduce the piece to its purest form: structure. Easy to read and instantly understandable. Obsessed: the quest for pared-down simplicity dictates features that are recognisable from the first glance. This requires a high level of expertise.
THE ACCURACY OF THE SHAPE
is a b o v e a l l its e x p l o r a ti o n
What can be created with a square? A circle, an oval or a rectangle?
Cartier thinks like a designer, measuring the effects of sym - metry, parallelism or asymmetry that each shape offers.
By adding perspective, creating depth and calling on the curve of the pieces, the Maison seeks to provide them with movement and reinvent them in a new form.
THE PRECISION OF PROPORTIONS
is the balance between the lines and shapes, the volume and harmony that emanates from the design.
The precision is measured by the way you wear it, much like that of clothing. Proportion then takes on its true meaning, determining the piece’s elegance which fits naturally into this context. It is this original precision that allows Cartier to rework the proportions of the pieces according to the times, yet without distorting them. The shape must also be comfortable, in harmony with movement. Proportion relies on technical innovation, ergonomics research, and understanding the piece’s function
THE PRECIOUS DETAILS
refer to the stylistic intuition of a jeweller who sees beauty or finds and dares to show what others hide. The details must have meaning and not be featured aimlessly or artificially. These are pieces of great value, and Cartier is ready to let this show.
BELOVED OBJECTS
This intelligence of design places objects seamlessly within their time as well as within the future. Contemporary, although vintage to some, these designs stand the test of time: classic, eternal, essential.
They can all be reinvented and continue to inspire conversations: a boundless source of creative energy which Cartier dares to develop over time.
A cultural, but also emotional heritage. These pieces are heirlooms. The connection that we have to these pieces continues to grow with time. A powerful feeling directly linked to the idea of heritage and the timelessness that they symbolise.
This family of watches and jewellery, a remarkable collection in the history of jewellery as well as watchmaking, affirms Cartier’s original intention to create designer pieces
BALLON BLEU DE CARTIER
Ballon Bleu was created in 2007 from a new vision of roundness which, for the Cartier designers, involved giving volume to the circle. Doubly convex, its shape strikes the perfect balance between line and volume. To avoid any breaking of the line, the sapphire crystal winding crown is perfectly integrated into the case, with the crown cap under a metal hoop at three o’clock protecting the blue bubble.
JUSTE UN CLOU
With Juste un Clou, Cartier enhances the design of a basic shape by transforming a simple nail into a piece of jewellery. Clean, radical and uncompromising lines, the precision of this bracelet’s proportions, created for Cartier in New York in the 1970s by Aldo Cipullo, allows the oval to hug the wrist
TANK
In 1917, Louis Cartier took inspiration from the purity of the line to create a new watch shape.
The two parallel brancards are an established signature of the Tank watch. Inspired by the design of a combat vehicle viewed from above, this watch follows one clear graphics principle: the brancards were the treads, the case was the turret.
From this combination came a new and fundamental principal: the case attachments are aligned with the strap to maintain the rhythm of the design
TRINITY
The Trinity ring - how jewellers reveal the beauty of a shape with a single ring.
With clean lines and perfect proportions, it is made up of three intertwined, mobile bands in three colours of gold. A design created by Louis Cartier in 1924
PANTH ÈRE DE CARTIER
... First created in 1983, the Panthère watch is above all a piece of art: the square case with rounded angles, the seamless curve of the horns and the visible rivets.
With the Panthère watch, Cartier aspires for clean lines, without losing sight of the softness of the lines which make this timepiece a quintessential jewellery watch. The watch takes its name from the bracelet: ultra-flexible, it echoes the movements of the Maison’s emblematic animal.
Redesigned in 2017, the Panthère de Cartier watch reflects liberated, joyful and triumphant femininity.
LOVE
Love is the expression of Cartier’s design vision. Clean lines mean perfection: an oval bracelet created by Aldo Cipullo in New York in 1969 composed of two rigid and flat circular arcs that must be screwed together using a suitable screwdriver.
SANTOS DE CARTIER
Created in 1904, the Santos watch design is based on the concept of form, the taste for minimalism, the precision of proportions and finally, an eye for detail. For the first time, Cartier created a square watch for the wrist at a time when the pocket watch was round. The screws, traditionally hidden in watchmaking, are made visible and become an aesthetic code of the collection.