The name “Vendôme” has almost magical associations in the world of jewellery and watchmaking. This majestic square at the heart of Paris has long been a source of inspiration for jewellers and watchmakers, whether they be French or Swiss. Today on WorldTempus, Olivier Müller considers how the Place Vendôme has found its way into different watches in a variety of ways.
On 21st June, Jackie Kennedy’s Cartier Tank watch comes up for auction at Christie’s in New York. Ming Liu takes a detailed look at this historically significant piece, from a collection that celebrates its centenary this year, as well as a couple of other stars from the sale, tomorrow, with the help of Eric Wind, senior watch specialist and vice president at Christie’s.
This week I review the latest models in the Vintage collection from Bell & Ross, exploring how these military and aviation inspired watches have evolved in what is now their third generation. Meanwhile, David Chokron focuses his attention on the Jaeger-LeCoultre Duomètre collection.
So besides the fact that an in-house motion was becoming increasingly more significant, Cartier Watches 3578 Replica realised very well that to be really reliable and successful in the sphere of high-end watches, they needed to produce not just their own calibers, but also as many components as possible, like the instance, springs, rotors, dials, hands, glass etc.Cartier constructed, throughout the Collection Privée period, a huge — over 30.000 square meters — manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds (see our coverage here) and began to use a chosen group of watchmakers on a follow up project to be started in 2008, all headed by Carole Forestier-Kasapi, the genius watchmaker that was hired in 2005 and had worked at Audemars Piguet (Renaud & Papi) and van Cleef & Arpels. This very modern and high-end manufacture is currently with the Rolex manufacture, the biggest in Switzerland!The very first outcome of Cartier’s high-end watchmaking premiered in November 2007. A — by Carole Forestier-Kasapi — developed Flying Tourbillon quality was demonstrated into the media. Unfortunately, the opinion was set in a 47mm over-sized Ballon Bleu case, following the large watch trend.Since the release of the Flying Tourbillon, Cartier did not rest on their laurels. While other leading brands like Audemars Piguet were taking it quietly and satisfying the watch fanatics with ‘Offshore’ afterwards ‘Offshore’, year after year, Cartier made over-hours and devised new substances, new calibers and surprised the press each January in the SIHH with real novelties. Back in 2009, and again in 2012, Cartier even invited more than a hundred journalists from around the planet and flew them into La Chaux-de-Fonds, to present the ID-ONE and ID-TWO watch in their manufacture. Two prototype watches which would not reach the market, but were made for study and — of course — to demonstrate the press how far ahead Cartier was in fine watchmaking.
