In 1912, a young watchmaker named Maurice Couet invented the world's first mystery clock, simply named Model A, for Louis Cartier.Inspired by the clocks of French illusionist and inventor of modern magic, Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, no movement was visible in the transparent clock, the gem-set hands seemingly floating in mid-air.
This was an illusion, of course. While the hands were not connected to any movement, the clock movement was hidden at the base of the clock. The hands were attached to two glass discs - one at the speed of the minute hand and the other at the speed of the hour hand. Completing the illusion was the hour circle that hid the metal borders of the disc.
Later, other models were improved in the spirit of this technology and won loyal - and royal - fans such as the Queen of Spain, Queen Mary wife of King George V and the Maharaja of Patiala. This technique was only ever employed in clocks because of the complication of and delicateness of the moving parts, until Les Mysterieuses de Cartier was unveiled at SIHH this year.
Two of the more aesthetically pleasing and technologically impressive pieces at this year's market, the mystery watches are housed within the Rotonde de Cartier cases.
The Rotonde de Cartier Mystery watch is driven by the manual winding calibre 9981MC. The movement itself is made of two separate elements: the movement is concealed in the crescent-shaped zone at the baseplate, while the mystery display, showing only the hour and minute hands, is visible in a transparent subdial set at 9 o'clock. Four anti-reflective sapphire crystal discs help perpetuate the illusion that the hands are floating in void.
However, it is the sight of the suspended rotating tourbillon of the Rotonde de Cartier Double Tourbillon Mystery Watch that takes the breath away. More than three years were spent working out how to make the flying tourbillon as accurate and efficient as possible, which meant reducing significant friction, weight and consumption.
The flying tourbillon turns on its axis once every 60 seconds, but the tourbillon cage also performs another rotation at one turn every five minutes. It isn't surprising that Pierre Rainero, strategy and heritage director of Cartier, is pleased. "This one was a dream and this is extraordinary, when you think about the technicity and the aesthetic result, because sometimes you have technical improvements, but the watches are not as aesthetically perfect," says Rainero at the maison's SIHH showroom. "Probably, because the idea was to have an aesthetical result, I think the result is really very satisfactory."
The two mystery watches aren't the only timepieces that Cartier has successfully turned from concept to reality. The Rotonde Astrotourbillon Carbon Crystal timekeeper, featuring the calibre 9460 MC, uses the technology premiered for the ID1 concept watch developed by the maison in 2010. The tourbillon cage and escapement is made of carbon crystal assembled flawlessly and does not require any servicing or additional lubrication, one of the bases of the ID1 concept.
"We are very proud of that because it was our will since the beginning, the first watch including some innovations from the ID1 concept," Rainero says. "We wanted to show the concept is a tool to improve technique for all the ranges [of watches]. And then you have the technicity of ID2. It will be a challenge to put that to another kind of watch."
With six new movements and over 110 new models this year, the brand is in full force. There are improvements and adaptations of existing lines such as the Ballon Bleu and the Calibre de Cartier, but the maison also caters to women with a sparkling range of high-jewellery timepieces with the Les Heures Fabuleuses collection that includes a couple of secret watches.
Besides the trademark panther, the collection features strong fauna motifs, including the peacock, snake, frog, elephant, parrot and turtle. "Our fine jewellery watches are very different," Rainero says. "I don't think we have competitors on that specific type of object.
"My favourite is the green beryl and diamonds bracelet watch where you have a barrel facing the dial of a watch because the shape of the bracelet is very much a part of our style."
Cartier has reinterpreted the Crash watch, first released in 1996. The inspiration for the irregularly shaped case and the almost melted-looking dial came from a Baignoire Allongée model damaged in a car crash. "We want to keep it exceptional, so every time we work on a new version we are very cautious," Rainero says. "It has to be something new, it has to be different in respect to collectors in the past, and it has to be relevant.
"The work went into sourcing the right bracelet for the watch, which took the team almost two years. It was not obvious with so many different possibilities. I wanted something very soft, artistic, fluid because if we had to work on the feminine side it has to be like that."
Another age-old artistic technique is highlighted in Cartier's Metier d'Art collection. Etruscan granulation dates back to the 3rd millennium BC and involves creating small balls of gold that are assembled one by one to create a motif. The 18ct, yellow gold watch bezel is set with 306 brilliant-cut diamonds and comes in a limited edition of 20 pieces.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Magical mystery tourbillon
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