Ballon Bleu de Cartier tourbillon volant

Shapes and movements by Cartier, a creator of fine watchmaking marvels

2009 represents a real quantum leap for Cartier. For the very first time, Cartier is developing its own watch movements that reflect the brand’s intense and ambitious research into mechanisms. This remarkable foray into the world of calibres is the signature of a new approach to fine watchmaking by Cartier, which was inaugurated last year with the Ballon bleu de Cartier Flying Tourbillon timepiece. Cartier has developed an array of shapes to convey this dynamic impetus, expressed in both the cases of their watches and the movements themselves. Featuring striking silhouettes, inventive graphic designs, spectacular volumes and Cartier-made movements, some bearing the prestigious Geneva Seal, this collection of ten timepieces elevates great Cartier classics – from the Tank Américaine to the Santos 100 – to the rank of authentic examples of fine watchmaking.

Cartier flying tourbillon 9452 MC calibre: the excellence of the Geneva Seal

The 9452 MC calibre, Cartier’s emblematic Geneva Seal movement, was presented at the 2008 SIHH as part of the Ballon bleu de Cartier watch and has now been incorporated into two historic Cartier models this year: the Tank Américaine and the Santos 100. This one-minute flying tourbillon reveals a C-shaped tourbillon carriage at six o’clock. Symbolising the art of watchmaking by Cartier, this carriage pivots on its axis every sixty seconds while floating freely without the disconcerting presence of a tourbillon bridge. Better still, the eye can behold the ethereal transparency of this spectacular construction when the watch is held up against the light, thanks to a wide dial opening.

A signature dial

A true work of art, the full glory of the dial becomes particularly apparent when observed under a watchmaker’s eyeglass. The dial, on which the blued-steel minutes and seconds hands turn, distinguishes itself by the presence of two levels. A first traditional guilloché grey dial is overlaid with an openworked grid that features Roman numerals and a “rail-track” scale upon which the tourbillon traces the seconds.

The excellence of the Geneva Seal

The mechanical manually wound 9452 MC calibre stamped with the Geneva Seal has a power reserve of 50 hours. The manufacture, assembly and adjustment of this movement’s 142 components, each with a thickness of just 4.5 mm, adhere to the criteria of excellence
outlined by the greatest watchmaking traditions. The care and attention devoted to the 9452 MC calibre’s finishes enable the aesthetic beauty of the movement to be glorified, while its durability and adjustment are optimised:
• All of its steel components feature polished corners, drawn flanks and rounded visible edges, which reduce friction and provide the movement with enhanced longevity; the screw heads, pivot shanks and pinion faces have also been polished.
• In order to guarantee greater component durability, the finishing of the jewels is the subject of particular care and attention: the holes in the 19 jewels used for the gears and escapement are polished, while on the bridge side, the jewels are olive-machined and the mouldings are polished.
• The balance spring is fixed by a sliding plate using a balance-spring stud with a round head and neck. This particularly delicate watchmaking operation allows the spring to be centred more precisely and thus for the movement to be adjusted more efficiently.
• The weight of the escapement wheel has been reduced in every way possible in order to reduce the impact that its inertia has on the adjustment of the movement. The Cartier 9452 MC calibre is accompanied by a lead seal featuring the official hallmark of the state of Geneva, as well as an individually numbered certificate of origin attesting to the fact that the movement has passed all of the examinations imposed upon it by the Office for the Voluntary Inspection of Watches from Geneva (Bureau de Contrôle Facultatif des Montres de l’État de Genève).