A Calibre Of It's Own

And since we’re on the subject of tourbillons, one that caught this writer’s fancy is the Rotonde de Cartier Astrotourbillon, which, according to Forestier-Kasapi, took the brand five years to make, and entirely at the manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The watch features an orbital tourbillon, which, positioned above the movement, makes one sweep around the dial every minute. The centrally mounted tourbillon cage comes in lightweight titanium, and the case, very large at 47mm, comes in white or rose gold. All in all, very attractively laid out and well finished.

A new release that pays tribute to a pocket watch from 1929 is the Rotonde de Cartier Heure Sautantes. It features a jumping hours window at 12 o’ clock and a rotating disc for the minutes display. At 42mm, the watch is an ideal size, and cuts a smart, elegant line on the wrist. One is also drawn to the very attractive decoration of the bridges, with the interlocking “C” which was an original design of the Cartier Collection Privée line, which has now been replaced by the Fine Watchmaking collection.
Rounding off the new releases from the range is the Tortue Perpetual Calendar, a hefty watch at 45.6x51mm but with the size compensated by the open-worked dial that shows the levers of its perpetual calendar 9422 MC movement. This is the first time the brand is using the Tortue case shape in the Fine Watchmaking collection, and though a bit too busy from my point of view, it will definitely pique the interest of horological aficionados.