London and Paris have done it before — now its Singapore’s turn to showcase Cartier Vintage, a collection that pays tribute to the brand’s unique shapes and designs of the 1970s to the 2010s
Cartier Vintage is a specially selected set of six timepieces by a group of experts from the brand’s image, style and patrimony department. These watches are sourced from watch fairs to specialised retailers and internal teams to authenticate the selected creations.
Once these watches are authenticated, the talented team at Cartier will then set about to restore these time-telling treasures. The Cartier Vintage assortment in Singapore has a total of six pieces ranging from Tank, Tonneau to Tortue.
The client experience goes beyond the purchase as each client will receive an eight-year warranty through Cartier Care, new authenticity certification alongside the signature Cartier red box. Of this special collection, Anne Yitzhakov, managing director of Cartier Singapore and Malaysia, says: “We are pleased to have the opportunity to present these emblematic, mythical and rare Cartier timepieces in Singapore. As one of the few markets to provide this gesture, we believe that the permanent Cartier Vintage offering will be a new and wonderful experience for our watchmaking connoisseurs.”
Here are the six timepieces from four different collections from the Cartier Vintage that you can view at the flagship Cartier boutique at ION Orchard which opens from 10am to 9.30pm daily.
Collection Louis Cartier: Square Incurvée
Square curved watch, large model, hand-wound mechanical movement, yellow gold, leather (1976)
Movement: ETA 078
Characteristic: Manual winding Dimensions: 17.5mm by 2.9mm
Power reserve: 38 hours
Frequency: 21,600 alt./hour
Number of jewels: 17
Launched in 1973, the Cristallor and Square Incurvée watches continued to pay tribute to the Maison’s exploration in geometry and the art of clean lines. Notable for the solid gold cases with a gadroon decor, other Cartier watchmaking codes were added from Roman numerals to blue cabochon to make these creations look bold in this era.
Atelier de Paris MCHP (Manufacture Cartier Horlogerie Paris)
In the beginning of the 1980s, a part of the watchmaking production was moved from Switzerland to Paris, which saw the initiation of Manufacture Cartier Horlogerie Paris. It existed until the beginning of the 21st century. During this period, many Cartier creations were made in France and carried distinctive features including precious materials and “Cartier Paris” on a white dial.
Atelier de Paris MCHP (Manufacture Cartier Horlogerie Paris): Tonneau
Tonneau watch, small model, manufacture mechanical movement with manual winding, yellow gold, leather (1985)
Movement: ETA 078
Characteristic: Manual winding
Dimensions: 17.5mm by 2.9mm Power reserve: 40 hours Frequency: 21,600 alt./hour Number of jewels: 17
The first Tonneau watch was born in 1906, which helped to challenge the tradition of round pocket watches back in the days. Aimed to fit well on the wrist, the case was designed to curve slightly with the dial shaped in between a rectangle and an oval. The “vis armurier” tube screws adorning the lugs were a strong point of design to further enhance its avant-garde aesthetic in the early 1900s. Paired with a leather strap, its true beauty was underlined with the juxtaposition of precious and natural materials.
Collection Privée Cartier Paris (CPCP)
Initially launched in Switzerland and Italy in 1998 be- fore making it available worldwide in 1999, Collection Privée Cartier Paris was a curated collection of watches for watchmaking connoisseurs. Some of the characteristic codes included the precious case metal from yellow gold to platinum, alligator leather strap with a folding buckle, “Cartier Paris” on a guilloché dial and mechanical movement (with or without complications).
Collection Privée Cartier Paris (CPCP): Tank à Vis Dual Time Zone
Tank à Vis watch, large model, hand-wound mechanical movement, yellow gold, leather (2002)
Movement: 9901 MC
Characteristic: Manual winding
Dimensions: 26mm by 20.3mm Power reserve: 38 hours
Frequency: 21,600 alt./hour
Number of jewels: 18
In 1931, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Cartier achieved a major technical innovation of ensuring the water-resistance of a rectangular watch case through the Tank Étanche creation. Inspired by Tank Étanche, Tank à Vis was launched in 2001 with rounded case sides and bezel studs with screws. The dual time zone complication, a com- plication seen on Tank Cintrée or Ton- neau, was different on Tank à Vis with one movement and a crown to wind the watch and set the times.
Collection Privée Cartier Paris (CPCP): Tortue Minute Repeater
Tortue watch, large mod- el, hand-wound mechan- ical movement, yellow gold, leather (2003)
Movement: 9401 MC
Characteristic: Manual winding
Power reserve: 42 hours
Frequency: 21,600 alt./hour
Number of jewels: 34
Designed in 1912, the tortoise-inspired case shape was an instant hit with watch lovers and fitted right into the Maison’s collection of shaped watches. Compared with the Tonneau, its wider case had allowed for added complications from Monopusher Chronograph (1928) to Perpetual Calendar (2001) in its various interpretations.
Collection Privée Cartier Paris (CPCP): Tonneau Dual Time Zone
Tonneau watch, extra-large model, hand-wound mechanical movement, pink gold, leather (2005)
Movement: 9770 MC
Characteristic: Manual winding
Dimensions: 15.33mm by 2.9mm
Power reserve: 38 hours
Frequency: 21,600 alt./hour
Number of jewels: 18
The first Tonneau watch was born in 1906, which helped to challenge the tradition of round pocket watches back in the days. Aimed to fit well on the wrist, the case was designed to curve slightly with the dial shaped in between a rectangle and an oval. The “vis armurier” tube screws adorning the lugs was a strong point of design to further enhance its avant-garde aesthetic in the early 1900s. Paired with a leather strap, its true beauty was underlined with the juxtaposition of precious and natural materials.
The dual time zone complication was equipped with two movements, one for each time zone independently set by a dedicated crown.
Pasha High Complication Collection
Launched in 1986, a year after the release of Pasha de Cartier, the High Complication Collection was dedicated to watchmaking lovers. Individually made from one gold ingot, each watch was launched in limited quantities and individually numbered.
Pasha High Complication Collection: Pasha de Cartier Golf. Pasha de Cartier golf watch, 38 mm, manufacture mechanical movement with automatic winding, yellow gold, leather (1993)
Movement: 889 Jaeger
Characteristic: Automatic winding
Dimensions: 26mm by 4.1mm
Power reserve: 40 hours
Frequency: 19,800 alt./hour
Number of jewels: 34
In 1985, the Maison introduced Pasha de Cartier, a round- ed case with a strong volume. Its name paid tribute to Pa- sha El Glaoui of Marrakesh, a loyal client of the Maison in the 1930s and watch collector. Apart from bearing the unique Cartier codes as seen in the square minute track in the centre of the dial and diamond hands, other new elements were introduced from rotating solid gold bezel to Arabic numerals. Building on the success of its early years, the High Complication Collection saw new creations throughout the following decades. In 1987, the Maison offered Pasha de Cartier with a minute repeater, moon phase and perpetual calendar. Last year, the world saw the relaunch of Pasha de Cartier as an in-range offering.
