Cartier Jour Nuit

$39,000

Out of Stock

The modest Parisian roots of Cartier date back to 1847, founded by Louis-François Cartier, amidst a turbulent French Revolution. Despite being predominantly known as an Haute Jewellery brand, Cartier’s rich history is also intertwined within the horological landscape. The origins of the ‘first’ wristwatch can be traced back to Brazilian pioneer aviator, Alberto Santos-Dumont who is thought to have complained about the inefficiencies of pocket watches, in turn, his friend Louis Cartier took on the task of creating a wrist-watch. Up until then, most wristwatches consisted of a hybrid mechanism to transform a pocket watch into a wristwatch. As a result, the Santos was the first wristwatch made by Cartier and is also believed to be one of the very first wristwatches made circa 1904.

Despite boasting a rich horological history, many assume that Cartier Watches are purely a design brand which is not entirely accurate. The highly respected Collection Privé Cartier Paris (CPCP) was originally launched in 1998. The principle behind the CPCP was to unearth some of Cartier’s most successful designs and fuse them which highly respected movements, usually made by third parties such as Piaget, Jaeger-Le Coultre, Frédéric Piguet, THA ébauches, and others. Interestingly, THA ébauches, represented one of the most fascinating movement manufacturers at the time, founded by François Paul Journe, Denis Flageollet and Vianney Halter in 1996. In an interview conducted by our friend Arthur Touchout, Flageollet highlighted the following:

At the time the heads of product did not have extensive knowledge of their heritage. We gave them the idea to remake the chrono-monopoussoir Tortue.

A rather unique way of distinguishing the CPCP collection from the others is the “Cartier Paris” inscription, the only reference that does not follow this is the Tank Cintrée. The Collection Privé Cartier Pris (CPCP) represents some of Cartier’s finest watches made to date, the collection was produced from 1998 till 2008 and remains highly sought after.

Our Example

This 18-carat white gold Tortue XL Jour Nuit was thought to have been one of the last references produced prior to the discontinuation of the CPCP collection. The Tortue case represents one of Cartier’s most iconic designs in line with the Tank and Crash. The case measures 38mmx48mm and wears well due to the slight downward sloping lugs. The 18-carat white gold crown is decorated with the iconic blue sapphire found on most CPCP’s.

The Dial – Cartier Paris

The dial is signed “Cartier Paris” and features the classic central rose motif silvered guilloché, the interplay of both Roman and Arabic numerals is a testament to the secondary complication found on this reference. Not only is the depiction of the Jour Nuit impressive it also serves as a secondary time zone. The blued-steel hands allow for a certain amount of contrast paired with the usability of being able to segregate the different functions of the watch.

Movement

The manual wound calibre 9904MC is found in this reference, the movement consists of 217 parts, 20 jewels and has a 72-hour power reserve. The bridges are decorated with the Cartier interlocking double-C motif, the blue C on the balance wheel is a lovely touch. The watch is water-resistant up to 30 meters.