Myst De Cartier Watch

MYST DE CARTIER

PLAYING WITH MYSTERY

A sculpture of a watch, the Myst de Cartier brilliantly embodies the foundational link between Cartier jewellery and watchmaking. In it, the jeweller's eye joins forces with the watchmaker's practised hand to shape a creation elevated by the interplay of lines, the pattern work, the beauty of materials and the diversity of techniques used. Very early in its history, Cartier approached watchmaking with creative audacity, questioning codes and pushing boundaries. Recently, the Cartier Libre, Reflection de Cartier and Tressage de Cartier watches have demonstrated how the Maison's designers like to take things further and create ever more daring pieces.

"The new Myst de Cartier watch is all about volume and movement. Its design follows in the footsteps of the jewellery watches created under the direction of Jeanne Toussaint in the early 1930s – pieces that were both sculptural and flamboyant."

Pierre Rainero – Director of Image, Style and Heritage

UNEXPECTED INSPIRATION

Myst de Cartier is a watch with a singular aesthetic that is resolutely in this creative vein. The mystery takes shape through its surprising construction. It has no clasp, bringing to mind a trompe-l'œil bracelet. Strung together like beads, the elements that make it up resemble protective talismans. Its singular inspiration and design elevate Myst de Cartier into an object that radiates mystery and protection. The composition puts alternating curves in stark contrast with a domed crystal and geometric pavé dial, which are surrounded by a delicate onyx frame with a triangular hour-marker. These bold visual elements come together in a symmetry enhanced by spots of black lacquer.

FROM JEWELLER TO LACQUER ARTIST

The jewellers chose a bead setting for the bracelet, which uses stones of different sizes to create perspective and volume. 30 hours of setting work are required to create this architectural tension. Playing with the contrast of the diamonds, the lines of black lacquer were hand-painted one by one by an artisan at the Maison des Métiers d'Art, the inner sanctum of Cartier expertise located in Switzerland. Made up of lacquered and pavé sections threaded onto a flexible bracelet, the watch slips neatly onto the wrist. Long hours of research and development were needed to achieve this articulated construction and elasticity.

ULTIMATE SPLENDOUR

Cartier's designers also envisaged an even more elevated design by completely covering the same construction in diamonds. In this monochrome version, curves and shapes are defined with even greater subtlety, as they seem to appear and disappear depending on how you view the piece. The initial mystery of its inspiration is multiplied by the endless sparkle of light on the volumes and stones.