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Amongst watch enthusiasts, Cartier is known for elegant, classic dress watches; the Tank is the most well-known example. The Cartier Libre collection then, announced at the end of 2017, would come as a surprise to some. Elegant jewellery watches for ladies, yes — but they are all quite, quite unusual.
Four of the watches bear the ‘Baignoire’ prefix. French for ‘bath,’ the original Baignoire dates from 1906 and is — you guessed it — an elegant, classic dress watch with an oval shape. The Libre collection Baignoires, however, share an oval theme, but are rather avant-garde and striking with their black-and-silver theme. The Debordante (‘overflowing’) sports a near-unmarked black face but is ringed with a mane of gems. The Infinie (‘endless’) is a cleanly-cut bracelet with a tiny watch dial surrounded by a dazzling array of diamonds and mother-of- pearl. The Etoilee (‘starlit’) features a horizontally-oriented dial and a chandelier-like bracelet of dozens of diamonds and black spinels. The Interdite (‘forbidden’) is likewise horizontally set, but the case is wrapped with bold black strips that, if you look closer, resemble roman numerals.
The Crash Radieuse stands apart. Its yellow gold case is not oval, nor round — nor anything, really. It is an artfully crumpled irregularity, and will draw unavoidable comparisons to Salvador Dali’s famous painting. It is also the only one of the new collection that sports a mechanical instead of quartz movement.
The watches from the Libre collection are priced between US$40,700 and US$209,000 (RM161,000 and RM827,000) and are limited to between 12 and 50 pieces, depending on the model.
