By Last month at SIHH in Geneva – the Richemont Group’s annual unveiling of its brand’s key watch releases for the year ahead – the highlight, as is often the case, was Cartier. No one does elegance and fine craftsmanship quite like the French jeweller, founded in 1847.
The fair is a celebration of intricate engineering and haute horology, but it was a watch with a quartz movement that left longest lasting impression. Cartier’s Santos-Dumont – named after Brazilian airman and friend of Louis Cartier, Alberto Santos Dumont – is an example of how a well-designed watch doesn’t need to work hard for your admiration. It’s at once understated and arresting. Not quite square, not quite a cushion or ‘tonneau’ (barrel-shaped), and nuanced, without being fussy. It’s offered in various metals, and there is an especially mega skeletonised edition, but our pick is the quartz in rose gold with the dusty grey alligator strap.
The Santos-Dumont will be available in May 2019 from Cartier’s refurbished flagship store on London’s Bond Street, which reopened its doors last month. The brand has a deep bond with the UK – it is still the only foreign jeweller to hold a Royal Warrant – and the store has long been one of the most important fixtures of the capital’s most exclusive street.
Alongside the New York and Paris premises, the London boutique is now referred to by Cartier as a ‘temple’, and the renovation has made the Grade-II listed building every bit a church of luxury craftsmanship. In addition to the cabinets of jewellery, watches, fragrances and accessories, there are salons for private shopping, as well as a glass-roofed winter garden, a Maharaja-style bar, and even a private apartment, equipped with kitchen and sitting room. For those of you that adhere to the religion of beautiful things, we recommend a pilgrimage.
175-177 New Bond Street
