Cartier - Ballon Bleu Flying Tourbillon enamel
It all started with a Ballon Bleu de Cartier watch. This watch was the first to be equipped with the new generation of Cartier fine watchmaking movements. Since 2008, this Ballon Bleu de Cartier watch with a flying tourbillon calibre had only existed in a version with a diameter of 46 mm. With its new 39 mm case, it is the height of elegance. In this version, sporting a dial in blue flinque enamel, the Ballon Bleu de Cartier watch joins deed with word by matching its name to its colour.
The Ballon Bleu de Cartier Flying Tourbillon enamel watch is available in a limited series of 100 pieces in white gold with an exceptional dial in deep-blue enamel. Following in the tradition of clocks with enamel dials, which Cartier began offering its clients in 1909, this dial is made using a technique that requires rare expertise. First of all, the metal base of the dial is guilloched with a radiating motif of intersecting arcs known as flinque, before being covered with translucent enamel.
Control of the temperature during firing affects the entire process. Any error at this stage would irreparably deteriorate the dial. Unfit for use, it would then be discarded. This phase is all the more delicate because the dial has a large opening through which the flying tourbillon carriage is visible. Once it has cooled down, the dial displays a radiant interplay of matter and luminosity, between the transparency of the layer of enamel, the texture of the guilloche and the refinement its blue hue. In its new size, the Ballon Bleu de Cartier Flying Tourbillon watch is defined by a unique elegance. Its dimensions will appeal to men looking for a compact watch with a modern tourbillon and which, in addition to its soft lines, is characterised by great comfort. An exercise in harmony and proportion, today the case has a thickness of no more than 11.4 mm. The Ballon Bleu de Cartier 39 mm watch and its calibre 9452 MC bear the stamp of the "Poinçon de Geneve". Assembled and adjusted in the Cartier workshops in the heart of Geneva, the movement is designed and decorated according to this most demanding of standards.