Cartier Ballon Bleu de Cartier Extra-Large Watch W6920055

Cartier - Rotonde Collection

Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon watch, calibre 9402 MC, Geneva Seal: time for good vibrations

Of all the complication models in existence, minute repeater watches are collectors' favourites since they give purely mechanical processes a more poetic dimension and offer the opportunity to follow the passage of time through music. More subtly, the Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon watch reminds us that announcing the time of day by means of sound has always been, in all civilisations, one of the exclusive prerogatives of the centres of power and authority. This ability to announce the time in a different way certainly gives this complication pride of place in the subtle hierarchy of watchmaking features. 

Origins 

People often ask who first invented the minute repeater watch and for what reason watchmakers were led in the past to create such complex instruments having the capacity to tell the time through sounds. 

Even after consulting numerous books on the subject, mystery still surrounds the date of invention of a timepiece that calls on its users' sense of hearing as well as on their sight. Some recognised historians trace the invention of the repeater watch to an English watchmaker named Daniel Quare (1649-1724), since it is known that he publicly presented a pocket timepiece of this type some time between 1680 and 1686. The only thing that is really certain is that the majority of master watchmakers working during the second half of the 18th century contributed to improving this extremely complex mechanism. 

Of course minute repeater watches are no longer used to the same extent today as was the case in the past. Nevertheless, their rarity and the quality of their workmanship continue to exert their fascination, even if sometimes the strength and quality of their sound leave much to be desired. 

Purity of sound 

While the subjective nature of human vision allows us to form our impressions of different objects or decorative effects in accordance with the level of education or the temperament of the observer, in questions of sound the ear is rarely prepared to tolerate inaccuracies. For human beings hearing continues to be among the most highly-developed of the senses. Even in modern conditions this most sensitive of the five senses is capable of analysing a vast range of information. If the majority of this material is not retained at a purely auditive level, the brain nevertheless transcribes what it registers in terms of the pleasure or disgust that it procures. Thus, even without having had formal musical training, almost everybody can tell a right note from a false one on the basis of the pleasure obtained from hearing it. This is why, when dealing with minute repeater watches, the main aspect to be considered is not merely their aesthetic appearance, but also the sound they produce. For, like high-quality musical instruments, these timepieces with their subtle mechanical designs are works of art whose magic takes effect through the auditory emotion they produce. 

Which also explains why, in order to move the human spirit and inspire passion, the entire staff of the Manufacture Cartier felt the need to rethink in scientific terms everything they thought they knew about repeating timepieces in general and about minute repeater watches in particular. 

A fresh approach to the theory of sound propagation 

The Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater watch is the fruit of five years of research into watch acoustics. It was long thought that the knowledge acquired over the centuries was sufficient. However, the rigorous quality standards and the very conception of today's watches together with modern methods of scientific analysis have brought to light a significant number of defects in the way that time measurement is converted into sound. 

Cartier's Research and Development Department has thus taken up the challenge of offering lovers of fine watchmaking a minute repeater watch which, while remaining traditional in its design, represents a synthesis of in-depth acoustic research as applied to watchmaking. 

The Cartier watch movement development team has set itself the task of redefining the underlying scientific factors on which the acoustic appreciation of a minute repeater watch is based. As a starting point, it was necessary to redefine the very concept of sound itself, which can be considered as the auditive sensation engendered by an acoustic wave. This wave, which may be compared to the ripples produced by a stone that falls into water, displaces particles in the medium of propagation. These constitute air vibrations that the middle ear transforms into vibrations that can be analysed by the inner ear. 

What the ear hears... 

An organ of rare complexity, the ear, although extremely fragile in appearance, is capable of assimilating a large amount of information to identify a sound and measure its force. Any given sound is the sum of a volume defined in decibels (a unit of acoustic intensity as represented by the level of sound pressure exercised on the ear), of a pitch (high or low), of a frequency (the number of vibrations engendered by the body of sound per second), and of a duration (time period). 

Each of these values that form the sound must be considered individually during the creation of a minute repeater watch, and must ultimately lead to the transmission of a sound that is clear, powerful, regular and crystalline, without any trace of echo or parasitical induction that could spoil the pitch of the notes intended to give a fine sound dimension to time measurement. 

... the eye sees 

As one of the defining concepts for the Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon watch, the Manufacture Cartier has paid particular attention to the presentation of the external parts of this state-of-the-art watch with a classic personality. Numerous acoustic tests have been conducted so as to validate a certain number of theories concerning the cases of watches with striking mechanisms. 

Foremost among these are the tests carried out by Cartier's team of engineers and watchmakers involving modules made of different materials and enclosing the same music-box. These have made it possible to develop a new watchmaking theory in relation to the transmission of sound, based on a relationship between volume (45 mm), weight (approx. 32 grammes) and power (68 decibels). 

The equation may best be summarised as follows: the lower the weight of a repeating watch's case and the larger its diameter, the greater its capacity to produce a loud sound. Which is why Cartier has chosen to present the Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater watch in grade 5 polished titanium with a 45 mm diameter.

For it is all a question of vibrations 

To ensure the harmonious transmission of an acoustic wave, there needs to be a very b link between the part emitting the sound wave and the parts intended to receive it. Today Cartier proposes a new watchmaking concept that consists of linking the gong to the plate and linking the plate to the middle of the case at four points. To optimise this link, the heels of the two gongs of the minute repeater are finally screwed down, each at a particular point inside the case. The perfect synergy between the case and the movement thus aids the transmission of the vibrations. 

Since square gongs allow the hammer to strike regularly at the same place despite the fact that the blade of the gong has started to vibrate, the acoustic waves are thus harmoniously diffused throughout a wide emitting surface. It is however essential that these harmonious sounds transmitted through the air be struck in a regular way so that they can be both appropriately interpreted and specifically counted by the brain. To produce the constant striking of the hammers, the Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon watch is equipped with a mechanism known as an "inertia and friction governor", which is particularly silent and sophisticated. 

Thanks to an aperture in the open-work dial, this objectively very efficient organ is visible with its slate-coloured galvanised silver-plating in the extension of the flying tourbillon escapement positioned at 12 o'clock. It enters into rotation so as to control the speed of the winding of the minute repeater's strike-train and at the same time ensure the regular emission of the notes sent out by the watch's two gongs. 

In this way the ear is enchanted by the tune marking the hour while at the same time the eye is captivated by the frantic whirling of these two extremely complex mechanisms. In this dual action, one mechanism has the illustrious task of regulating the passage of time at a rate of one revolution per minute and 21,600 vibrations per hour for the balance. The other dedicates itself to moderating the rhythm of the music by controlling the winding of the spring contained in the barrel of the minute repeater mechanism manually reloaded by means of a push-piece incorporated into the case middle at 8 o'clock. The choice of a push-piece to replace the traditional bolt that is habitually observed on the side of minute repeater watch cases, answers the need to reduce the case mass / gong mass ratio that determines the power of the vibrations. Being smaller and, in particular, being concentrated at one specific point on the case, the push-piece thus enables the mass of the case to be significantly reduced.

Marking time with sound 

Connoisseurs of fine mechanical devices will be sure to turn back the time again and again once they have activated the push-piece positioned at 8 o'clock so as to enjoy the whirling dance of the strike-trains, racks, star-wheels and snails found in the fascinating minute repeater mechanism. This watch, with its 45 mm diameter and available in titanium or in pink gold, has a 9402 MC movement, 447 parts and 47 jewels, and bears the Geneva Seal - the mark of its impeccable quality of craftsmanship. It will be appreciated for its incredibly light weight, achieved through the extremely delicate nature of its mechanical parts, and will be proud to demonstrate the clarity and power of its strikes to whoever cares to listen. 

An exceptional model combining two of watchmaking's traditional grand complications, the Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon watch is the first representative of a new generation of high-level timepieces. Proposed in a numbered limited edition of 50 models in titanium and 50 models in pink gold, this new Cartier creation also exists in a version set wi

Rotonde de Cartier Annual Calendar watch, calibre 9908 MC 

Since its very origins Cartier has always sought to satisfy lovers of fine watchmaking by offering them creations with lines that are both classic and original, operating in keeping with the highest standards of mechanical development and equipped with useful functions. 

The new Rotonde de Cartier Annual Calendar watch fully meets this objective. An efficient and practical timepiece, it is the very expression of that balance between tradition and modernity that only the largest watch Manufactures manage to achieve.

A recent invention in the world of watchmaking since it was only perfected just under 15 years ago, the annual calendar quickly became the last word in terms of date display for watches intended for everyday use. Flexible to use and capable of being adjusted without needing to be re-set, this mechanism had until now failed to find its place in the Cartier collection. By incorporating it into the case of the Rotonde de Cartier watch, the team responsible for developing new calibres at the Manufacture has tried to satisfy watch lovers' aspirations to have calendar information that is full and accurate throughout the year displayed on the dial. 

The origins of the date function 

A simple date function, or in other words a mechanism that enables the date to be shown in an aperture or at the tip of a hand, needs to be adjusted by hand at the end of each month with 30 days (i.e. with an even number of days) so as to ensure that the watch is in line with the calendar. This adjustment, easily carried out but frequently forgotten, may cause small errors on a month-by-month basis that need to be rectified manually.

This need to override the mechanical system by turning the winding crown to remove the number 31 and replace it with 1 in actual fact soon becomes an irritating chore. This is why the perpetual calendar mechanism was invented by watchmakers in the 18th century, enabling accurate calendar information to be displayed on dials, without the need for adjustment, for as long as the timepieces concerned remain in working order. Fascinating as these instruments are for their numerical memories, their owners are sometimes caused difficulties if ever these watches stop working for a prolonged period. The reason is that readjusting the calendar displays of these highly sophisticated models always requires numerous operations that sometimes oblige the watch owner to have recourse to a specialist. 

To avoid these constraints when starting a watch, the Manufacture Cartier movement design team has perfected a reliable, efficient and sturdy mechanism for the Rotonde de Cartier Annual Calendar model that enables the date to be adjusted automatically at the end of the month (distinguishing between months with 30 or 31 days) and also displaying the days and months throughout the year, without requiring manual adjustment except in the case of the passage from 28th or 29th February to 1st March. 

The brand new Manufacture 9908 MC calibre is distinguished by a setting mechanism that enables the totality of a watch's annual calendar information (day, date and month) to be controlled through the winding crown. This simple setting system, devoid of any kind of correcting device on the case, offers maximum ease of use on a day-to-day basis.

 

A movement that is both creative and functional 

For the Rotonde de Cartier Annual Calendar model, Cartier has chosen to incorporate an annual calendar mechanism directly into the plate of the 1904 MC calibre. This solution, particularly appreciated by lovers of fine watchmaking, was arrived at thanks to numerous tests to allow for the large date display with two independent numerals at 12 o'clock and the rapid setting of the different displays of the annual calendar through a cascade control process operated by the winding crown. This refined movement, highly original and developed entirely in-house, incorporates a number of important features, including a semi-instantaneous mechanism for converting the large date into two independent numerals (over a one-hour conversion period) so as to ensure the maximum chronometric stability for this paragon of fine watchmaking. In this system, the four-branched star-wheel corresponding to the tens column is turned by the catches located on the large unit disc. This unit disc - at the very heart of the calendar system - also holds another secret: it carries within it a simple and intelligent mechanism which, thanks to a cam bearing a memory of the months incorporated directly into the lightened rims of the units of the date device, makes it possible to display without any possibility of error the months having 30 or 31 days, once the current month has been set. 

This mechanism of irreproachable efficiency is programmed to take into consideration the length of the months with an even or odd number of days, except in the case of February (with 28 days, or 29 once every four years). It is completely incapable of being de-indexed even if subjected to a severe impact. 

This automatic annual calendar, for which Cartier designers succeeded in devising the operating system by combining the presentation of the date with a day and month display using a dragging hand mechanism, undergoes strict testing so as to withstand all the requirements of everyday life. 

A watch that is both harmonious and contemporary 

Elegance is the art of balance and the sum of an equation that connoisseurs of fine objects define as the golden number. With its harmonious dimensions and its contemporary diameter of 45 mm, the Rotonde de Cartier Annual Calendar watch, available in 18-carat white gold or pink gold, expresses in its every detail a genuine feeling of harmony and balance. 

Thus its slim, gently curving bezel brings out the best in a carefully-constructed multi-layered dial, featuring in its upper part a silvered "sunray-effect" grid with black transferred Roman numerals, over which pass sword-shaped hands in blued steel. This volume-based arrangement of elements allows the eye to capture the measurement of time at different levels, and marks out two concentric silvered zones bearing the transferred names of the days of the week (towards the centre of the dial), and those of the months (towards the edge). Sliding forward under these shallow recesses, two "hammer-shaped" hands, of which only the red tips are visible, indicate, once they have been duly set, the calendar information which will complete the presentation of the large date, viewed through a double aperture at 12 o'clock. Within this design, the winding crown, the measurements of which have been modified so as to give a better grip, allows for the re-setting of the 9908 MC annual calendar calibre, and also the calendar adjustments depending on its position in relation to the various different notches. This complication watch, fascinating in its sobriety, has a transparent case back that reveals the hand-crafted workmanship that is a defining feature of all fine watchmaking creations.

Rotonde de Cartier Cadran Love Tourbillon watch, calibre 9458 MC, Geneva Seal: immobile translation 

Every Cartier creation is naturally expected to be a symbol of style. The refined lines of the case of the Rotonde de Cartier Cadran Love Tourbillon watch provided its visionary designers with an ideal environment in which to transform the mechanical systems that they were destined to contain. Challenge is at the heart of the master watchmaker's craft, and to focus one's attention on a minimalist tourbillon movement and a subtly off-centre display is to mark out a style in which the essence of tradition can take on a truly modern dimension. Approaching the dial as the ideal space in which to develop their imaginative powers, watch designers offer the observer an inspired interpretation of the measurement of time, in which three distinct parts form a harmonious whole. The dance of the hours The surface of the watch's case back is worked by skilled craftsmen with an elegant guilloche treatment before being given a slate-coloured galvanised finish. The starting-point is thus laid for a timepiece that one already senses is destined to be a model of refinement. Spreading across this background surface, a sculpted form shaped like a crescent moon unfurls its elegant openwork of Roman numerals cut out of the white gold. Whirling around in an off-centre area slightly to the right, the workings of the hands make their dance more comprehensible by arousing in the observer the sentiment that something strange is taking place. A flange moves the expected framework of Roman numerals to one side. The sword-shaped hands in blued steel are shifted slightly to the right, drawing closer to the winding crown in white gold set with a sapphire cabochon. The art of letting oneself be seen Around these markers that measure the passage of the days by their regular rotation, the gear-train is openly visible, so that the observer, constantly astonished by such refinement and precision, can appreciate their delicate whirling. This rotation, regulated by the manual-winding calibre with the reference 9458 MC, has a conductor whose performance must never be upstaged. For in this almost fractal assembly of circles large and small, only the flying tourbillon, with the "C" for Cartier playing the role of direct-drive hand, gives the visual impression of being powered by a movement. In this refined configuration in which nothing seems to be capable of stopping it and everything contributes to concentrating all attention on it, this refined feature finds an environment in which, observed from all sides, it is at last truly free to reveal to just what extent the art of pure mechanics can be enhanced by the magic of the watchmaker's expertise. Mastery of weightlessness This new flying tourbillon calibre, painstakingly developed in the Manufacture Cartier workshops, displays all the symbols of a rich and constantly renewed watchmaking heritage. This exceptional tourbillon mechanism, powered by the oscillations of the 9458 MC calibre, certified with the Geneva Seal, operates the heart of this 46 mm Rotonde de Cartier watch, a veritable spokesman for the world of fine watchmaking. Instead of fitting the tourbillon carriage in the traditional manner, nestled safely between the bridges and the plate of the movement, the flying tourbillon in this watch has been designed to enhance its aesthetic appeal. The tourbillon carriage indeed appears to "fly" over the bridges, suspended weightless above the dial, leaving it particularly exposed to shocks and the risk of destabilising the balance. In view of the technically delicate nature of this embellished structure, master watchmakers have had to pay very particular attention to the design of the tourbillon carriage. By inverting the tourbillon mechanism of this classic calibre, Cartier chooses to reveal to the eye what so often remains hidden. As for all fine watchmaking movements, the component parts making up this mechanical movement with manual winding, equipped with a 50-hour power reserve and bearing the reference 9458 MC, are all hand-finished. The same is also true for the Geneva stripes on the back of the plate and which are visible through the transparent back of the case that is proposed exclusively in white gold. In this timepiece, all aspects of the finish comply with the requirements making it possible to have affixed to one of its bridges the Geneva Seal, the certification of skilled work conducted in respect of watchmaking tradition: thus, the bridges are bevelled, the flanks are drawn and the screw-heads are polished. Each model is assembled by a single watchmaker and individually numbered in an edition of 100 models in white gold and 20 models in white gold set with baguette-cut diamonds.