Rotonde de Cartier 35 mm décor koala

Cartier d’Art: a devotion to the artistic crafts, ever richer and more complex

The artistic crafts have always been at the heart of the Cartier story, allowing the demands of artisans to dictate the introduction of new skills, materials and techniques in watchmaking.

These crafts are at the root of unique pieces fashioned in the hushed, intimate atmosphere of workshops, where talented artists devote themselves entirely to the task of creation and to the culmination of their fastidious efforts.

Each of these efforts is marked by the same refinement, the same exploration of forms, volumes and colours, the desire to create inspired watches whose every detail is a badge of true dedication.

A privileged dialogue emerges, a continuous exchange between the constraints of watchmaking and traditional and revived techniques. Curiosity asserts itself, driven by a burning devotion to the rare, seminal skills of these crafts.

The creative and technical challenge is once more accepted and overcome by expertise and unrelenting passion that, in the midst of this arduous task, reveal the force of its precision and perfection.

Rotonde de Cartier 35 mm watch, white gold, koala motif, straw marquetry 

The shine of a brand new material revealed: shimmering straw
Truly innovative, straw sweeps into the world of watchmaking as a precious material, finding a place on the craftsman’s bench alongside gold and diamonds.

High-calibre straw is selected for its sturdiness and sheen. The straw is split blade by blade and hammered flat with a burnishing bone, then cut with a fret saw and assembled into a meticulous design.

These are the first steps in the painstaking creative task that will yield the Rotonde de Cartier watch with koala motif and straw marquetry. Blades of straw in different sizes and shades are juxtaposed as tightly together as possible to produce effects of volume and depth. It takes almost 40 hours to complete one dial.

From blonde to brown, the seven different tones of the straw offer a natural golden lustre to demarcate and illuminate the koala motif. This glossy sheen is an inherent quality of the straw: once dyed and assembled on the dial, it is left in its natural state, without varnish or protection of any kind.
 
The ancient technique of straw marquetry inspired a number of works of art prior to its present-day resurrection by Cartier in the form of this precious creation. In placing the spotlight on an unconventional material in the world of watchmaking, Cartier extracts from it a delicate quality, a singular poetry. This latest addition to the Cartier ark is the pride of the artisan watchmaker, whose masterful skill convincingly creates the look of fur, alert eyes, and a lifelike koala.

Limited-edition series of 20 timepieces.