DESIGN CODE
With a legacy that dates back to 1847, CARTIER has been responsible for some of the most iconic jewellery and watch collections – and it all starts with design
OVER THE PAST 174 years, a unique collection of cult jewellery and watchmaking designs have become a signature of Cartier. Designs like the Tank, Trinity, Juste un Clou, Santos, Love, Panthère and Ballon Bleu are instantly recognisable, and are based on the maison’s four main principles of creation: the purity of the line, the accuracy of the shape, the precision of proportions, and the precious details.
This design philosophy places these precious objects seamlessly within their time, as well as on par with the future. Contemporary, although vintage to some, iconic designs such as these stand the test of time: classic, eternal, essential. They can all be reinvented and continue to inspire conversations, while providing a boundless source of creative energy which Cartier dares to develop over time.
Pieces from these collections have also become heirlooms – not only cultural, but also emotional heritage that continues to grow with time. They symbolise timelessness, affirming the maison’s original intention to create designer pieces.
THE PURITY OF THE LINE
This represents Cartier’s desire to reduce the piece to its purest form: structure. It’s easy to read and instantly understandable. The quest for pared-down simplicity dictates features that are instantly recognisable.
THE ACCURACY OF THE SHAPE
Cartier thinks like a designer, measuring the effects of symmetry, parallelism or asymmetry that each shape offers. By adding perspective, creating depth and calling on the curve of the pieces, the maison seeks to provide them with movement and reinvent them in a new form.
THE PRECISION OF PROPORTIONS
With balance between the lines and shapes, volume and harmony emanate from the design. It is this original precision that allows Cartier to rework the proportions of the pieces according to the times, yet without distorting them.
THE PRECIOUS DETAILS
The stylistic intuition of a master jeweller sees beauty and dares to show what others hide. The details must have meaning and not be featured aimlessly or artificially.
BALLON BLEU DE CARTIER
Double convex, with a shape that strikes the perfect balance between line and volume, Ballon Bleu de Cartier was created in 2007 from a new vision of roundness which – for the Cartier designers – involved giving volume to the circle. To avoid any breaking of the line, the sapphire crystal winding crown is perfectly integrated into the case, with the crown cap under a metal hoop at three o’clock protecting the blue bubble.
JUSTE UN CLOU
With Juste un Clou, Cartier enhances the design of a basic shape by transforming a simple nail into a piece of jewellery. Clean, radical and uncompromising lines, the precision of this bracelet’s proportions – created for Cartier in New York in the 1970s by Aldo Cipullo – allows the oval to hug the wrist.
TANK
In 1917, Louis Cartier took inspiration from the purity of the line to create a new watch shape. Inspired by the design of a combat vehicle viewed from above, this watch follows one clear graphics principle: the brancards were the treads, the case was the turret. From this combination came a new and fundamental principal – the case attachments are aligned with the strap to maintain the rhythm of the design.
TRINITY
With clean lines and perfect proportions, the Trinity ring is made up of three intertwined, mobile bands in three colours of gold. It was originally designed by Louis Cartier in 1924.
PANTHÈRE DE CARTIER
First created in 1983, the Panther̀ e watch is above all a piece of art; the square case with rounded angles, the seamless curve of the horns and the visible rivets. The watch takes its name from the bracelet; ultra-flexible, it echoes the movements of the maison’s emblematic animal. Redesigned in 2017, this iconic watch reflects liberated, joyful and triumphant femininity.
LOVE
The Love collection is the perfect expression of Cartier’s design vision. The oval bracelet, created by Aldo Cipullo in New York in 1969, is composed of two rigid and flat circular arcs that must be screwed together using a suitable screwdriver.
SANTOS DE CARTIER
Created in 1904, the Santos watch design is based on the concept of form, the taste for minimalism, the precision of proportions and finally, an eye for detail. For the first time, Cartier created a square wrist watch at a time when the pocket watch was round. The screws, traditionally hidden in watchmaking, are visible and become an aesthetic code of the collection.
CONTEMPORARY, ALTHOUGH VINTAGE TO SOME, ICONIC DESIGNS SUCH AS THESE STAND THE TEST OF TIME: CLASSIC, ETERNAL, ESSENTIAL