Combining High Jewelry with watchmaking: an obvious choice for Cartier who bridges the gap between these two founding crafts. On the one hand, the exceptional stones and expert workshops, and on the other, watchmaking and its exacting standards for precision.

Cartier draws upon their excellence in the creation of jewelry when designing their watches, and this is very much the case for the baguette watch. These watches get their name from the baguette-cut diamonds they are paved with and their flat-topped rectangle shape. A true trailblazer, Cartier has been using baguette-cut diamonds since 1908. This miniaturisation of the jeweller’s work is distinguished by delicate execution. These creations are driven by the world’s smallest manual mechanical movement, the calibre JLC 101. Since 1927, this miniature mechanical movement has allowed for the creation of this linear aesthetic inspired by the stones themselves.

The panther made its début at Cartier in 1914 on the case of a women’s watch. For its first appearance, Cartier opted for an abstract motif of the panther’s spots, drawing inspiration from the feline’s coat. An emblem of the Maison, the Cartier panther has been reinvented over time. Whether figurative, graphic or abstract, its many appearances have only one purpose: to reproduce the spirit of the animal.

There are many links between Cartier jewelry and watchmaking both from a stylistic and technical standpoint. Discoveries in both areas are exchanged and provide impetus for additional creations, as was the case with the so-called “trembling setting” used in jewelry design since the end of the 19th century. It enabled Cartier to let the diamonds move freely without the constraints that a traditional setting imposed. This technique, which maximises the shine and sparkle of the diamonds, was introduced into the world of watchmaking in 2015 with the creation of the serti vibrant. 123 diamonds set in this way take pride of place, moving freely on the watch’s dial. A spectacular innovation that has since been the subject of three patent applications.

The Révélation d’une Panthère watch is a first in the world of watchmaking. In 2018, Cartier created a dial featuring a panther's head design which appears and disappears with the movements of the wrist, outlined by a multitude of mobile gold balls. In 2019, Cartier replaced the gold balls with 650 brilliant-cut diamonds. A feat whose design is the subject of two patent applications: one for the nature of the fluid that regulates the speed at which the gold balls and diamonds move, the other for the completely invisible glass structure.