Watches Blog Wrist Watch Reviews

However you look at it, Cartier has always been the creator of shaped watches and the brand never renounced their past. Their creations from the twenties and thirties are still a returning theme in the collection, as they often have obtained an iconic status. Stunning examples of Cartiers shaped watches are the curved cases of the Tank Americain and?the?Tank Cintr e?and?Tonneau?pictured here.These are watches that fit like a glove on the wrist and look so handsome halfway under the cuff. This is what most of us probably see as shaped cases. ?But there are less well-known examples, produced in very small quantities, that are even more extreme when it comes to case design.1923 For instance, wa [...]

Last year, Cartier launched the first three models of their Drive de Cartier' collection. Never before the brand released a new time piece that was, from a design and advertising point of view, so targeted to men as the Drive de Cartier collection. In general, the response was very positive. ?The Drive de Cartier?was picked up pretty soon after it was released, especially the time only' model.During the last SIHH, two more models are added to the Drive de Cartier' collection. They probably appeal to a part of the Cartier clientele, on which the previous three models might have been lost: that of the classic Cartier connoisseur.Purists will be pleased that Cartier reduced the size of the case [...]

Last week when I came home after a few weeks of traveling and opened one of the smaller cupboards that I hardly use, a little gecko fell on the floor and didn't move at all. When I picked it up from the carpet, I noticed that it must have been caught between the door and the doorpost because it was completely dried out to the bone.I felt bad, since I had never realized that I shared my apartment with this little gecko that?probably has protected me from many mosquitos during the night. ?However, it turned him into this beautiful skeleton.But also when talking watches, skeletons can often be very attractive, especially when they're stripped down to the bare minimum. The quite busy looking cla [...]

Cartier PashaBefore we come to this about 18 year old Cartier?Pasha, you should know that?(until about 10 years ago)?the production of Cartier watches was done very differently than it is today. It was ?around 2007, when there was a complete change in the way of working and that the production of actually everything, was re-arranged at Cartier.Manufacture in La Chaux-de-FondsWhen Cartier finally decided not to rely on third parties anymore (for calibers and parts), they?built a huge 30.000 square meters vertically integrated manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Cartier also hired new staff and appointed the right people to do the job. Carole Forestier-Kasapi?(responsible for the development and [...]

Drive de CartierCartier Hong Kong celebrated the official launch of the three Drive de Cartier' models and for this important release, an amazing party was organized, that lasted night after night, during the last 9 days of September. The Drive de Cartier time only' model was already available since January, but the wait was still for the more complicated ?Drive de Cartier' with complications and the Drive de Cartier flying tourbillon, to make the trilogy?complete.Nine BoutiquesSince the opening of the Cartier Prince's Building Boutique' in 1970, the first Cartier Boutique in Asia,??Cartier has realized nine boutiques in Hong Kong. Not those small shops like we have in Europe, but really lar [...]

Drive de Cartier- Mens Only CartierLast January when Cartier presented the Drive de Cartier watches at the 2016 SIHH in Geneva, there was a lot of traffic at the Cartier booth. Almost every journalist talked amongst each other about this new watch, in the corridors. Cartier is always presenting quite a few watches at the annual show in Geneva, but it's not every year that La Maison launches a steel mens only model, in the main stream category.?Well a?mens watch the Drive certainly is, not because of its robust dimension of 40 x 40mm, since ladies wear any size these days, but because of its masculine styling?and details. The Drive on my 18cm wrist Hands-On With The Small Complications Drive [...]

This year Cartier surprised us with a new collection, the Cl de Cartier. Cl is French for key and refers to the winding crown of this watch. Cartier positions the Cl de Cartier line-up in the same range of iconic collections as the Santos and Tank. Very ambitious, but Cartier is one of those watch manufacturers that probably can live up to it, creating a new iconic model that is. For designing the Cl de Cartier, the maison was inspired by the perfect circle.Cartier Cl de CartierThe first thing that came to mind when seeing the Cl de Cartier from the front is the C-shape of the case, as Omega called it with their Constellation line-up of the late 1960s, early 1970s. However, the curves [...]

Its early Thursday morning and my alarm clock goes off. This is not something that happens a lot on weekdays, there must be something special going on. My agenda tells me I have to be at Schiphol Airport in two hours.After working my way through a rainy rush hour, I arrive at KLM Jet Center. This place looks like a remote business area, not what youd be expecting when you are travelling to Switzerland. Shortly after I find myself in a lounge, overlooking a large terrain with several jets.It is here that I meet my fellow travellers for today, and hardly 15 minutes later we take off in the Cartier Jet, heading towards the Cartier Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds.Cartier Manufacture VisitShortl [...]

For many people, a watch is not only a device that tells time, as numerous other devices surrounding us can do that today. It is also a piece of art, jewelry, perhaps a status symbol or perhaps equipment for something else as well. From diver watches to chronographs with pulsation scale on its bezel for specific pusposes.? Then you have those watches that people wear all the time; even when playing sports.We all know the history of Jaeger-LeCoultre's Reverso and the British polo players. Have you heard about Cartier's Basculante or Universal Geneve's Cabriolet though? Read on!Reversible Watchesphoto from rg_watches from eBayphoto from Universal Genevephoto by Jaeger Le-CoultreFor those of yo [...]

Back in 2010, when Cartier introduced their Calibre de Cartier I would have never thought that it would be possible to create a divers watch based on this model. Even though the Calibre de Cartier was more masculine than most other Cartier timepieces with the exception of the Santos 100 models perhaps I still classified it as a dress watch. Now, December 2013 and just a few weeks before the SIHH exhibition will start in Geneva, Cartier prepares us for a divers version of the Calibre de Cartier. Lets have a look at this early introduction.For starters, Cartier made sure that this Calibre de Cartier Diver Watch met all requirements according to the ISO 6425 standards. This ISO norm has a set [...]

When most people think of Cartier, the Fine Watchmaking collection might not be the first thing that come to mind. Their Santos and Tank models are more famous amongst the crowd. Due to our friend Geo (owner of the Troisanneaux website and moderator of the Cartier forum over at Revolution) I became a bit more knowledgeable about this collection myself.In short, the Fine Watchmaking collection is Cartiers showcase for their watchmaking skills. This collection was introduced in 2008 (as a successor to the Collection Privee Cartier Paris (CPCP) collection) and since then a lot of new in-house developed movements and complications have been presented to the watch loving crowd. The focus of the F [...]

We say Cartier and you will probably say Tank. The Tank is a watch that has been in Cartiers collection since 1919 and designed by Louis Cartier (hence the LC). The prototype was already built in 1917, but the model was marketed two years later.Pictured below is a LC Tank that dates back to 1998, in platinum and with a very flat F. Piguet movement? (Cartiers 021MC caliber). This watch measures 33.5 x 25.5mm.Photo by Geo, www.troisanneaux.comInspired by the armored Renault tank (1917), the Cartier Tank watch was given to General John Pershing, who served in Europe during the first World War. If you take a close look at the Tank watch, it looks like the horizontal section of an armored tank.Th [...]

About a week ago, I was able to test drive a Calibre de Cartier. Having seen it during the SAHH in Amsterdam in 2010, I was quite impressed by its specifications and masculine look, but didnt have the opportunity to try it ever since.Cartier was never that much on my radar, until I met Geo who runs the?Troisanneaux website and moderates the Cartier forum of Revo-Online. Ive learned that they are pretty good at watch making (understatement) and with their recently introduced Calibre de Cartier, they are in the same (price) league as the other big brands with in-house movements (Panerai, Rolex, IWC, Omega).Anyway, Ive tried the Calibre de Cartier and the results can be read at Watchuseeks Publ [...]

Today, I had a drink with some watch friends and one of them was wearing this Cartier Santos 100 Carbon. Geo, the owner and moderator of the Cartier forum over at Revo-Online, handed over the watch and I was blown away by the stealth look of this otherwise classic watch brand. The stainless steel case had a ADLC treatment, the bezel and crown have been made out of titanium and the folding buckle is also a combination of ADLC stainless steel and titanium. This watch comes with a black fabric strap which perfectly underlines the stealth look of this Santos 100 Carbon.The case measures 51.1mm x 42.6mm and with these dimensions, you better get some exercise to make it fit right. Geo took his wat [...]

Earlier this year, Cartier introduced a new watch for men, Calibre de Cartier. A few years ago, Cartier introduced the Santos 100 to fulfil the demand for a more masculine watch, the Calibre de Cartier is their next-gen masculine watch with in-house movement. And perhaps this new model does the trick even better!I tried on the Calibre de Cartier during one of their events and I must say that I was quite impressed by the look and feel of this watch and perhaps just as important, the price tag. A list price of just below 5K Euro makes this watch an interesting competitor for the usual suspects as a stainless steel Rolex, in-house Panerai or IWC. However, what does it mean to be a Cartier man? [...]

Starting on the 19th of January, the annual SIHH is being held in Geneva. The SIHH, Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, represents a number of fine watch manufacturers like Audemars Piguet, Officine Panerai, Jaeger LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin and a few more. One of them is Cartier. Cartier once started out as a jeweler and in the 1900s, it was one of the first to create a wrist watch. I think everyone knows (or should know) the Santos-Dumont story.Anyway, I didnt classify Cartier as being a haute horlogerie brand for a long time. I just recently became interested in the brand, after talking to Treo. Treo is the owner of a dedicated Cartier website called Troisanneaux. After talkin [...]

Designed in partnership with the expressive Franck Muller Design Team, assembled in the French Jura mountains, powered by a? Japanese Miyota. This entry-level mechanical skeleton watch goes on Kickstarter for a?bargain price. I was never a fan of skeleton watches. But the universe conspired and a skeleton watch happened to drop into my hands. Now, I can't help but feel that all watches in the world should have see-through dials. Laying your eyes on a swinging rotor or the rapidly ticking escapement in the case of the Yonger Bresson Le Singulier, is truly magical.Yonger BressonI tipped my hat to the Yonger Bresson Le Singulier as soon as it hit my mailbox, as we do not see the skeleton concep [...]

The Grand Seiko Snowflake is a huge success, and it seems to be the collectors darling for a while now. But theres a new hero since this year, the Grand Seiko SBGA407 Skyflake.Of course, Skyflake is not the official name for this Grand Seiko, but enthusiasts used their creativity to come up with something in line with the original Snowflake. When I was in the market for a Grand Seiko watch, I decided against the Snowflake, for two reasons: the use of titanium and the case shape. I wrote about this struggle in this lengthy article. Instead, I went with the stainless steel Grand Seiko GMT Mt. Iwate with 44GS inspired case and hi-beat movement. Up to this day, I dont regret my decision. But I a [...]

One of the things that makes a Grand Seiko outstanding in most cases, is the dial. We all know the Snowflake and Mt. Iwate for example, but now they also have added hammered and?radiant pattern dials to their collection.I will get to the hammered platinum Grand Seiko SBGZ001 somewhere in the next weeks but want to have a closer look at the more affordable stainless steel Grand Seiko SBGY003 first. Limited to 700 pieces only,? but with a friendlier price tag than the gold and platinum watches from the Spring Drive 20th anniversary collection. For this occasion, Grand Seiko introduced a number of new manual-wind thin dress watches with Spring Drive movements.Grand Seiko SBGY003Using a hand-wou [...]

2020 marks the 60th birth year of the first Grand Seiko watch. To begin a full year of celebrations of this important landmark, the independent brand spun off from Seiko is introducing four new limited-edition timepieces. The standout piece for ladies? Reference STGK015.While Rob has already covered the three men's models, my eye is on the women's watch from Grand Seiko, obvs This diamond-studded automatic watch is limited to 300 pieces. It is a very feminine extension to the brand's Elegance collection. At 27.8mm, the petite size offers a delicate presence on a lady's wrist. Together with the SBGH281, it's the his and hers of the celebratory pair.DialThe stainless steel STGK015 boasts a dia [...]