Cartier Watches
There is a reasonable argument that Cartier invented the modern wristwatch — or at least the idea that a wristwatch could be something worth wanting rather than merely something useful. The Santos of 1904 was not the first wristwatch ever made, but it was the first to treat the wristwatch as a designed object rather than a miniaturised pocket watch strapped to a leather band, and it established a template for watch design that remains influential to this day. That Cartier came to this from jewellery rather than horology is perhaps the point.
From Jeweller to Watchmaker
Louis-François Cartier established his jewellery house in Paris in 1847. The company passed to his son Alfred in 1874 and to his grandson Louis Cartier in 1898 — and it was Louis Cartier who made the decisive moves that turned a jewellery firm into a watch company. He was a social figure with an instinct for what his clientele wanted, and what they wanted in the early twentieth century was the freedom to know the time without reaching into a pocket.
In 1904, Louis Cartier designed a watch for his friend Alberto Santos-Dumont — the Brazilian aviation pioneer who was making the early powered flights at the time and found it impossible to check his pocket watch while at the controls. Cartier produced a square-cased wristwatch with a visible crown, leather strap, and exposed screws on the bezel: an honest, functional design that happened also to look exactly right on a man's wrist. Santos-Dumont wore it. Society noticed. The Santos had been born.
The Tank — Geometry and Modernity
If the Santos established Cartier as a watchmaker, the Tank of 1917 established them as a design house. Louis Cartier designed the Tank — named for the Renault FT tanks he had seen manoeuvring on the Western Front — as a pure exercise in geometry: a rectangular case with extended side links that suggest the tank's track-rollers, a dial of absolute simplicity, Roman numerals, and a blued steel sword-hand. The Tank has been in continuous production since 1917, making it one of the longest-running watch designs in history. It has been worn by Jacqueline Kennedy, Andy Warhol, Princess Diana, Cary Grant and President Roosevelt. It has been copied, parodied and imitated by virtually every watch company in the world at some point. None of the imitations have improved on the original.
Key Collections for Collectors
Santos — the original model from 1904 evolved through numerous iterations: Santos-Dumont (the slim dress version), Santos de Cartier (the larger sport version introduced 1978 in stainless steel with gold accents), and the Santos 100. The 1970s–80s steel Santos de Cartier is highly sought by vintage collectors; the original 1904 design in gold with leather strap is a rare and serious antique.
Tank — the Tank family has proliferated into Tank Louis Cartier, Tank Solo, Tank Américaine, Tank Française, Tank Cintrée, and others. For vintage collectors, the most prized are early Tank Louis Cartier pieces in yellow or white gold with enamel or guilloche dials, and the Tank Cintrée — a curved case that follows the wrist — from the 1920s and 1930s. These Art Deco Tanks are among the most beautiful watches ever made.
Pasha — originally designed as a water-resistant watch for the Pasha of Marrakech in 1932, the Pasha was relaunched commercially in 1985 as a large, boldly styled sport watch. Vintage examples from the 1985–1990s are increasingly collected as period pieces.
Crash — a deliberate irregularity: a distorted, melted-looking case created accidentally in 1967 when a Baignoire Allongée was apparently warped in the London Mayfair boutique fire. Cartier turned the deformed case into a design and produced it as the Crash. It remains one of the most avant-garde watch designs ever commercially produced. Originals from the 1960s–70s are extremely rare and valuable; modern reissues sell quickly.
Cartier and Pocket Watches
Before the wristwatch era, Cartier produced exceptional pocket watches in the Art Nouveau and early Art Deco styles — enamelled cases, gem-set dials, and movements typically sourced from leading Swiss makers. These pieces are jewellery as much as they are watches, and they are collected accordingly. A Cartier pocket watch in fine enamel from c.1900–1920 is a major piece by any standard, with auction results to match. They are not commonly encountered in the ordinary antiques trade.
Reading the Signature on a Cartier
Cartier is among the most heavily counterfeited names in watches, and the vintage market carries a second complication on top of the fakes: for most of the twentieth century Cartier did not make its own movements. Calibres came from Jaeger-LeCoultre, from the European Watch & Clock Co. — a joint venture Cartier part-owned — and from other Swiss suppliers. A genuine period Cartier will often have somebody else's movement inside it, and that is correct rather than suspicious.
The signature on the dial is the more useful clue. Pieces are marked for the branch that sold them — Paris, London or New York — and that marking should agree with the case hallmarks and the style of the piece. A London-signed Tank ought to carry British hallmarks; one that does not deserves an explanation. Case and movement numbers were recorded, and Cartier's own archive service in Paris will confirm a piece for a fee, which is worth doing before any significant purchase.
Treat "Cartier-style" and "after Cartier" in an auction description as what they are. On the Crash and the early Tank Cintrée in particular, where values are high and originals scarce, assume a piece is wrong until the paperwork says otherwise.