Cartier Rotonde FINE WATCHMAKING

The watchmakers at the Cartier Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds are turning the spotlight onto the Astromystérieux in an unprecedented interpretation which combines the Tourbillon with the mysterious, a source of expression for Cartier since 1912.

The design is spectacular, displaying the entire movement floating in weightlessness. This watchmaking accomplishment is made all the more remarkable by the fact that the space dedicated to the hidden gears has been reduced to the bare minimum.

The tourbillon carriage integrates not only the watch’s regulating organ but also the entire wheel train from the barrel to the balance which is all carried by a sapphire disc. The elongated carriage ensures the function of the minute hands and completes one revolution of the dial every hour.

With the Rotonde de Cartier Astrotourbillon skeleton watch, Cartier explores a movement conceived and developed by the Maison’s master watchmakers in 2016 after five years of development at the Cartier Manufacture in La Chaux-de- Fonds in Switzerland.

Today, Cartier places it at the centre of an ultra-graphic dial with a grey case back and silver-coloured transferred numerals.

Due to its complex structure, the tourbillon lends itself to a play of geometry and transparency. This fascinating movement presents two major peculiarities that make it a unique tourbillon. First and foremost, the tourbillon carriage has a specific rotation axis situated at the centre of the movement. The design process was therefore totally different in comparison with that of the gear train. From the two barrels of the movement to the minutes and hours display. Secondly, this tourbillon carriage is positioned “above” the movement and not directly integrated into the movement, as is the case with a classic tourbillon. These precise mechanics form the basis of a signature aesthetic that takes its shape from the principles dictated by the Maison’s design vision: clean lines, radical design, and the importance of aesthetics.

Fitted at the heart of the Rotonde Mysterious Double Tourbillon, this double flying organ appears to defy the universal laws of gravity. The magical mechanism of the mysterious double tourbillon stays true to the aesthetic of Cartier mysterious movements inherited from the mystery clocks first created in 1912.

Unlike the classic tourbillon, the flying tourbillon has no upper bridge. It effects a complete rotation in 60 seconds and appears to be floating completely free in space, with no visible connection to any gear train. The illusion becomes even more striking when the same tourbillon carriage performs a second rotation, completing an orbit every five minutes.