Watches & Wonders Edit: Cartier releases dazzling new timepieces, from the Tank, Pasha and Masse Mystérieuse, to new Coussin and Indomptables de Cartier jewellery novelties

May 3 , 2022

Happy family: the latest generation of the Coussin de Cartier, with its innovative deformable case. Photos: Cartier

The Cartier Tank was released in new minimalist monochrome shades, while the Coussin de Cartier has diamonds integrated directly on the case

The Pasha de Cartier Grille features a bold, removable gold lattice across the dial and film icon Gloria Swanson’s diamond bracelet inspired new Cartier Libre creations

Ever since it was first created in 1917, the Cartier Tank has been a crowd pleaser, loved for the clean lines of its case and the classical elegance of its dial. The new versions released for 2022 are masterpieces of minimalism: they come with monochrome dials in a choice of red, anthracite grey and deep black, while just four of the usual 12 hour markers remain, and the rail track that usually forms a rectangle on the dial inside those markers is gone entirely.

The 2022 version of the Tank, the Tank Louis, is right on track to continue the line’s long record of success.

Look carefully, though, and you can see a collection of almost invisible markings, recreating a graphic pattern from the dial of a Cartier Must watch from the 1980s, that were inscribed by Cartier’s craftsmen using an innovative electrochemical engraving technique.

Distinguished characters: Cartier’s new Privé Tank Chinoise.

One of the best loved versions of the Tank was born just five years after the watch’s debut, and took its aesthetic cues from China. The Tank Chinoise, which is inspired by the architecture of Chinese temples, quickly became a classic, and has only rarely been redesigned since. To celebrate its centenary, the Tank Chinoise has become the sixth model to be reworked as part of the Cartier Privé collection of numbered, limited edition watches. The traditional square dial has been replaced with a rectangular one, which is openworked dial and comes in black and red lacquer, powered by the newly developed 9627 MC skeleton movement.

Coussin de Cartier, white gold set with brilliant-cut diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, tsavorites and blue tourmalines.

One thing we all know about watch cases: they’re solid and inflexible. Well, with the Coussin de Cartier watch, that’s no longer true. It represents a radical reimagining of the classic cushion shaped watch, featuring gold links that intertwine in a grid pattern, which allows the case to be deformed, squished and moved around, then returned to its original shape. A triangular setting, meanwhile, allows diamonds to be integrated directly into the case. It’s available in a range of different versions: some come in gold and diamonds, others are two-tone, while two others are highly experimental pieces entirely paved with coloured stones or diamonds.

Mystery movements have long been one of the leading wonders of watchmaking, powering timepieces with hands that appear to float above the dial, with no connection to the gears – and Cartier has been integrating them into its watches since 1912.

In the new Masse Mysterieuse, the entire movement is skeletonised and oscillates about the case.

On the new Masse Mystérieuse, the entire movement appears to be weightless. The new Calibre 9801 MC is presented in eye-catching semicircular form on the lower half of the dial, as a skeletonised oscillating weight. The most technically complex watch ever produced by Cartier, it is the result of eight years of research and development at the maison’s fine watchmaking manufacture.