Cartier

Last year Cartier launched at Calibre de Cartier, a new design intended to be the flagship men's sports watch. The model has been a hit, especially amongst buyers who previously would not have bought a Cartier because of the perception that they are too f...  

of bracelets in general. Bracelet plus a good size watch is a little heavy for me. This is just my opinion, but the Calibre is my least favorite Cartier men's model. It seems to me that in an attempt to be more "masculine" the watch loses some of the styl... 

at least the first half of your response: "be more "masculine". They'd insist this is still Cartier style though. - SJX

Not exactly my 'cup o'tea' either, but definitely see the Rolex-y influence on the bracelet. Just wish the rose gold and stainless bracelet was all rose gold down the middle, the 'every other link is gold' makes it a bit clown-ish. Great dial and movement... 

The bracelet is certainly Oyster inspired, though that's not entirely fair as the Oyster bracelet is so elementary anything with square links looks similar. The alternating gold/steel links are a good idea I think, if it's a band of gold all the way down ... 

Thanks for the great look behind the scenes, SJX.

Everytime someone mentions a watch has good finishing what does it actually means? The shine of the metal--The quality? What do I look out for to inspect for finishing? *New at these watch concepts so thanks in advance for the education! This message has ...  

There are couple of things in my opinion. They include the fineness/consistency of the brushed finish, whether the edges are bevelled and polished, the finish on the underside of the bracelet. Finishing is of course a separate issue from construction of t... 

say... JLC bracelet finishing for example.....

I find Cartier bracelets have more complex finishing, e.g. polished bevelled edges with brushed top for the Santos bracelet, but some JLC bracelet have fairly intricate construction e.g. the Reverso bracelet with seven links across. However I think JLC ha... 

While you do not show the Calibre de Cartier in black steel, I had a chance to see it at one of their boutiques. I was surprised to discover that the number XII in that particular watch is rendered in bright white color, unlike the one I have, which has t... 

The steel model with black dial has the XII filled with black lacquer. I do not believe there is a model with the XII in white lacquer. - SJX

and I saw it at the Cartier store in San Francisco, as well as in Geneva.

The black dial with white XII is the new dial which was just launched to replace the old one. - SJX

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Thank you for your replies. This is the one I saw. Quite frankly, I think that the one with the XII in black is more subdued and elegant, giving the watch both a sporty and dressy look. In my opinion the white XII cheapens it.

when I saw the whole bracelet collection the other day. I only glanced at the black dials, because I like the white dial versions better. I will take a closer look at the new black dial variants soon. - SJX

I have come to a boutique in Sydney to try on this watch in black dial with leather strap. I like how the case fit on my small wrist, it felt very comfortable to wear and that made me fall in love with it in the first try. But I'm worried about the water ... 

Rain, washing hand etc, is not a problem for the watch. But as you rightly point out the leather strap does not take well to water. If you do get the strap wet best to let it dry out for a day or two before wearing it again. - SJX

When i went to Cartier boutique to try on the Cablire de Cartier, i also went to Tag Heuer to try on a Grand Carrera and i asked them about the water resistance, they said 30m water resistance is like no water contact at all. All you can do with that watc... 

Strictly speaking 30 m is a rating for pressure resistance, i.e. the watch has been tested to equivalent 30 m of water pressure under static conditions. Usually watch companies test a bit more, for instance 50 or 100 m equivalent, just to be safe. A heavy... 

Thank SJX, your information is really helpful. Hope i can take some wrist shot soon

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Nice, But a thought that came to mind... ... regarding the steel and gold watch bracelet, I'd have thought it made far more sense to keep the center links of the strap made of harder wearing, steel and reserve the gold parts for the parts that don't 'mesh... 

One way of preventing excess wear and tear on gold links is to line them with a more durable material, perhaps even plastic, so that the spring bar or tube only comes into contact with the lining. And to prevent stretching it can be done by making the lin... 

Thank you for your great forum.. I wish to ask you how to inspect the case finishing including the dial and the exposed side of the movement on the back? Thanks with best regards

That is something for a very long article but a few things you can look at for the dial include the quality of the printing (sharpness, thickness), quality of the indices (whether they are applied, precisely cut shapes), hands (thickness, shape, colour if... 

Thanks

Looks tacky, big and definitely not Cartier. I can understand they want to do a sporty watch to sell, but this is dilutive to the brand. Santos 100 was such a masculine angular Cartier. Ballon Bleu was a Dandy Man's Cartier. Roadster was very unique. All ... 

but you are entitled to your opinion. As I've written before, it was created to broaden Cartier's appeal especially amongst consumers who otherwise would not consider a Cartier - you are not one of them. - SJX