Over the past eight years, early April has become somewhat of a ‘red circle’ day on the calendar for watch fans as it brings with it the annual unveiling of the Cartier Privé collection. And watch fans were not disappointed with the Maison’s famed Tortue collection taking centre stage at this year’s edition.
Famed for diving into its deep archive of rare watches and shapes, the Tortue is one of the older shapes in the Maison’s history, and this year it goes under the spotlight.
The name – Tortue (“tortoise” in English) – comes from the pleasing tonneau shape which resembles the curved shell of, well, a tortoise. First created in 1912, the Tortue is the continued documentation of Cartier’s long history (and mastery) of shapes, with this particular model showcasing an exploration of the interplay between curves and taut lines.
“The Cartier Privé is about celebrating the vintage of the brand,” says Cartier CEO, Cyrille Vigneron, “it’s about looking to the past to identify those Cartier designs that really represent the Cartier style – and then introducing new, up-to-date versions of them.”
In 2024, the Tortue remains faithful to its original design but it has been refined with a slimmer profile and lugs that stretch along the strap. Paying tribute to the very first model, it features apple-shaped hands and a rail-track that follows the iconic shape of the watch around the hour markers, making the dial even easier to read.
The new collection, presented at the Watches & Wonders fair, offers references in three hours and minutes models and two monopusher chronograph versions.
The time-only model is offered in platinum and yellow gold — each limited to 200 pieces, measuring 41.4mm tall by 32.9mm across, and a slender 7.2mm. The yellow gold model has a grained gold finish dial with gold-tone steel apple-shaped hands on a blue alligator strap.
The platinum model follows the same design, with Roman numerals and a chemin de fer track that follows the curve of the case beautifully, but what makes the platinum model distinct, besides the ruby cabochon on the crown, is the tone-on-tone silver dial with rhodium numerals. If you like the platinum, but are feeling a little extra, there’s a diamond-set version, which adds just over 2 carats of brilliant-cut stones to the case. This model is limited to 50 pieces. All three versions are powered by the manual calibre 430 MC
A little larger than the time-only version, the stunning Cartier Privé Tortue Monopossoir Chronograph is a nod not just to Cartier’s first-ever chronograph but also to a coveted Cartier Privé release.
“Renewing icons can be a tricky task,” explains Vigneron. “You have to have the right balance of humility and creativity to bring it to up-to-date with the right proportions.” And, on the evidence of this ‘red circle day’, it seems like they’ve got it very right indeed.