What We Know
For the watch nerds, Cartier’s Privé collection is often where folks turn to each year for the brand’s best tributes to its own extensive history. Now in its tenth edition since its reboot from Cartier’s previous Collection Privé Cartier Paris, usually referred to as CPCP, this showing at Watches and Wonders plays the hits with two separate trios of Privé models that highlight so much of what makes the brand special in collectors’ eyes.
Trio Exceptional
First is the Trio Exceptional, a collection of three iconic shapes: the Tank Normale, the Tortue Chronographe Monopoussoir, and the Crash Squelette. The three are executed in a familiar color scheme of burgundy accents paired with platinum, with a bit of additional color added thanks to the execution of hands in blued steel. The Tank Normale, brought back through the Privé collection in 2023, features the much-loved and rarely seen seven-row platinum bracelet, and this time solves prior complaints about legibility with the high-contrast hands.
Tank Normale
Tortue Chronographe Monopoussoir with oversized “XII”
The Tortue Chronograph Monopuissoir, as the name suggests in French, features the new, shaped in-house 1928 MC monopusher chronograph movement introduced with 2024’s Tortue reboot, but this time offers a more playful and dramatic dial that pays homage to the Ref. 2396 Tortue Monopusher from 1998. As such, we have a singular, oversized Roman numeral “XII” at 12 o’clock, with the Cartier logo moved to above 6 o’clock. Small applied hour markers in the shape of dots also replace printed Roman numerals.
The new Crash Squelette
Last but certainly not least is the Crash Squelette, a new model which introduces a new manufacture 1967 MC caliber that is sure to turn heads. It is a shaped movement in all senses of the term, and completely changes the concept of a skeletonized Cartier Crash. Whereas the previous skeletonized Crash used its skeletonized bridges to achieve a more traditional dial-like facade, this new version does away with even more material to achieve an even more dramatic look.
Roman numerals are integrated into the architecture, and the main bridges are entirely hammered by hand, with a tremblage pattern that adds a bit more texture. This Crash, to the chagrin of many top collectors, is limited to 150 pieces, while the Tortue and Tank Normale are sure to be limited-edition pieces.
La Collection
(L to R) Tank Normale, Tank Cintrée, Cloche de Cartier
The second trio in this year’s unveiling is Cartier Privé La Collection, comprising a Tank Normale, a Cloche de Cartier, and a Tank Cintrée. Like with the Trio Exceptional, a single design code is shared across all three watches: yellow gold cases, dark grey straps, golden-hued dials, and blued-steel apple-shaped hands, all equipped with manually wound movements. Each caseback is decorated with an engraving of the watch silhouette, really hammering home how important these designs are to the brand. Cartier has said this is merely the first act of La Collection, which might hint at a yearly series within the Privé collection that takes this more classic look and interprets it across the other silhouettes in the line.
Pricing for the new Cartier Privé collection is yet to be announced. We’ll update this story once we have more information.
What We Think
Whereas in years past the annual Privé releases have centered on one iconic shape, this year’s double trio of watches feels a bit more unfocused. But I suppose that if there’s a time to do something with many of the silhouettes together, it’s certainly the tenth entry in the line. Curiously, the CPCP program ran for only a decade, so it’ll be interesting to see whether this, in fact, marks the end of the Privé line as the collection reaches the same length as its predecessor, or if this year is just a celebratory one to usher in another decade of Privé.
The biggest news here, for sure, is the new Crash Squelette with that brand-new movement. While it feels almost cliché at this point to gush about a Crash, I think this new caliber is a significant improvement over the previous one, feeling much more elegant and deliberate in its construction. The combination of Crash, new movement, and a 150-piece limited edition is sure to guarantee its unobtanium status to everyone but the biggest names in Cartier collecting, but I’m really eager to see this one at the show.
The Basics
Brand: Cartier
Model: Crash Squelette, Tortue Chronographe Monopoussoir, Tank Normale, Cloche de Cartier, Tank Cintrée
The Movement
Caliber: 1967 MC (Crash); 1928 MC (Tortue); Calibre 070 (Tank Normale); 1917 MC (Cloche); 9780 MC (Tank Cintrée)
Winding: Manual
Pricing & Availability
Price: Price not available at the time of publishing
Availability: Cartier retailers
Limited Edition: Crash Squelette limited to 150 pieces.
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