WATCHES & WONDERS 2026 The Cartier PRIVÉ collection recreates a legend in watchmaking Grand unveiling of the tenth chapter

Every year, the Cartier Privé Les Opus series interprets Cartier's iconic watch masterpieces through modern aesthetics. Since 2015, this series, adored by watch collectors, has paid tribute to numerous classic Cartier watch models, including the Crash watch, Tank Cintrée watch, Tonneau watch, Tank Asymétrique watch, Cloche watch, Tank Chinoise watch, Tank Normale watch, Tortue watch, and Tank à Guichets watch.

Three extraordinary new works

The Cartier Privé collection unveils its tenth chapter, focusing on three of the most iconic watches of all time: the Tank Normale, the Tortue Single-Button Chronograph and the CrashSkeleton watch.

These three new creations aim to interpret the allure of platinum, the brand's signature material. As a particularly beloved element of Cartier, platinum embodies the precious and fascinating qualities of watchmaking. Now, the brand has taken it even further, using the classic color combination of platinum and burgundy as a theme throughout the three new creations. The winding crown is adorned with cabochons rubies, and the leather strap and dial pad print are burgundy: the overall tone contrasts elegantly with the silver pearlescent dial and blued steel hands.

"As early as the 1920s, Cartier was the first to introduce skeleton pocket watches. Known for their elegance and craftsmanship, these timepieces are designed to reveal their complications at a glance. In 2009, Cartier launched the Santos 100 skeleton wristrail, powered by the patented Cartier 9611 MC workshop refined movement, with instantly recognizable Roman numerals and hour markers. This creative method reflects Cartier's unique watchmaking philosophy - aesthetic design through technology." — PIERRE RAINERO, Director of Image, Style and Collections at Cartier

TORTUE Single Button Chronograph

The Tortue single-button chronograph reinterprets a timepiece from the Collection Privée Cartier Paris collection launched in 1998, while continuing its characteristic elements: the oversized Roman numeral indexes "XII", Ball hour markers, minute tracks, and triangular patterns on the four corners of the dial. It is powered by the Cartier 1928 MC workshop-refined single-button chronograph movement, which has been specially tuned to match the shape of the case. Simply press a single button integrated with the crown to start, stop, and zero functions. With a thickness of just 4.3 mm, this complication is one of Cartier's slimmest chronographs. The elegant Côtes de Genève complements the unique shape of the bridge, and the sapphire crystal case back of the Tortue is a perfect example of the harmony between craftsmanship and design.

TANK NORMALE

The Tank Normale is powered by a hand-wound mechanical movement with a seven-row platinum bracelet, a subtle echo of a historic model from 1934. Its case and bracelet are matte to complement the polished metal surface of the white fungus edges and the edges of the case.

CRASH skeleton

The Crash Skeleton, a legendary timepiece in watchmaking, is also a prominent figure, the first model launched by the Cartier Privé collection.

Born in 1967, the Crash is a classic icon of the "Swinging London" period, embodying the vibrant energy of the city of London at the time. With its asymmetrical dial design, this watch revolutionizes the aesthetic code of watchmaking. Since its inception, this watch has always been released in limited quantities and is rare.

Today, the watch has a new look and a new skeleton shape. Cartier has specially developed the 1967 MC workshop refined hand-wound movement, which is designed to match the unique structure of the watch and cleverly places the 142 movement components in a square inch. In this watch, Cartier has once again sublimated its watchmaking mastery, with the moving parts of the movement integrated with the bridge; The distortion of the shape of the watch is even more pronounced, as if the crown is pulling the entire movement.

Cartier's watchmaking excellence is also reflected in the intricate technical and polished details of the movement: the bridge is shaped like Roman numerals, a patented proprietary movement structure; The bridge mechanism is completely hammered by hand, a traditional decoration process that requires a high degree of precision, and each piece takes nearly two hours to complete. The Crash Skeleton is numbered and limited to 150 pieces.

The birth of the new skeleton movement once again confirms that Cartier continues to explore and is committed to reaching new heights in the field of styling watches with free creativity and excellent craftsmanship.

Cartier Privé La Collection

On the occasion of the unveiling of the tenth chapter of the Cartier Privé collection, Cartier presents the Cartier Privé La Collection series, a collection of iconic pieces recommended by watch enthusiasts in this collection. These iconic timepieces are in the same vein and elegantly interpret classic elements: they feature simple hours and minute displays, a yellow gold case with a gold-plated dial and apple-shaped blued steel hands, a hand-wound mechanical movement crafted by the Cartier workshop, and a dark gray alligator leather strap. The back of the case is decorated with a stylized engraving that matches the shape of the watch. In the first chapter, Cartier chose to pay tribute to three exemplary masterpieces: the Tank Normale, the Tank Cintrée and the Cloche watch.

@Cartier @CartierWatchCommunity

#Cartier #CartierHK #CartierWatchmaking #WATCHESANDWONDERS2026

#CartierPrivé