Cartier Rotonde Mysterious Double Tourbillon

SJX provides an exclusive first look at the Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Double Tourbillon from SIHH 2013. This article delves into the intricate engineering and design principles behind Cartier's innovative mystery complication, highlighting its Geneva Seal certification and unique double tourbillon mechanism. SJX's detailed photographs capture the watch's technical prowess and aesthetic appeal, offering readers an in-depth understanding of this horological marvel.

Cartier unveiled not just one, but two, mystery watches at SIHH 2013. The second is the Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Double Tourbillon with Geneva Seal. As the name implies, it is a double tourbillon, with two axes of rotation. The first is the one revolution per minute of the tourbillon carriage.

That carriage – with no visible connection to the rest of the movement – is mounted on a sapphire disc with makes one revolution every five minutes. So as the tourbillon carriage rotates once a minute, it is travelling round the dial once every five minutes.

Like the Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Hours, the tourbillon operates on a similar principle of sapphire discs with toothed rims, driven by gears hidden underneath the dial. Unlike the Mysterious Hours however, the teeth on the rim of the sapphire discs are secured by screws as DRIE teeth might not meet Geneva Seal standards.

This calibre is certainly a feat of concise engineering. It is only 5 mm high and 35 mm wide, but the tourbillon display is 16.5 mm, meaning that 47% of the surface area is the display.

The tourbillon carriage is titanium, with gold weights, and there is an additional gold weight to counterbalance the carriage on the rim of the sapphire disc. This gives the tourbillon assembly as a whole perfect balance and improved shock resistance – the movement has been tested for a one metre fall onto a hard wood floor as well as for 500 consecutive impacts.

According to Carole Forestier, the balanced tourbillon assembly, low inertia of the titanium carriage and double barrels give this excellent chronometric performance.

This is available only in platinum with a case diameter of 45 mm. It is regular production, with an estimate priced of EUR120,000.

But two limited editions fully set with diamonds, either on leather strap or fully paved bracelet, are also available, priced at about EUR460,000 and EUR1.2 million respectively.

- SJX