We debuted the Cartier Calibre Diver here back before we got a hands-on look at it at the SIHH 2014 watch show. Yes, there are Cartier “sport” watches… but a legit diver, water resistant to 300 meters that you can still wear with a tie and be taken seriously by Europeans taste makers? I didn’t think it possible but the Calibre Diver is it. I am not even sure that a dive watch from the famously elegant and classy Parisian brand makes sense on paper, but now that one exists I sort of really want it. As mixed up and backwards as the industry may be, it still has the power to create items that I suddenly desire which I would have never thought appealing until they were brought to my attention. That is how the peculiar “desire engine” of the watch industry works. This is the most athletic-looking among the four Calibre watches and also the most commanding model in terms of appearance and design.One of the last things I was expecting from Cartier for 2014 was a dive watch, and now that we have one I can barely imagine not wanting it.
#Cartier diver watch iso#
It holds its own among the sea of dive watches, with its ISO 6425 compliance, a striking luminescent dial and a water resistance rating of up to 300 meters. In 2013, they released their first proper diving watch – the Calibre de Cartier Diver. To add, the brand decided to place the minute track with five-minute increments on the bezel in order for it to act as a tachymeter.Ĭartier wanted to be taken more seriously in the sports watch segment. There are also two pushers on the right side for the chronograph function, which both technically act as guards to the crown. Instead of bearing a single sub-dial, the Cartier Calibre Chronograph has two on both sides, along with an expanded date window above the 6 o’clock mark. It still bears design cues similar to its direct predecessor, with few subtle differences in the dial. In 2012, Cartier equipped the Calibre with a chronograph complication. A year later, Cartier released a new wave of Calibre models bearing metal bracelets and various dial color schemes. Secured with cushioned leather straps in various neutral colors, Cartier Calibre watches are all 42mm in size and are made of either stainless steel or pink gold. There are also railroad patterns on the outer rim for an added vintage touch. Readable and neat, their dials consist of sword-shaped hands, Roman numeral and baton indices, a running seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock, and a vertical date window at 3 o’clock. It possesses all the qualities one will ever need in an elegant sports watch: a large and solid case, curved lugs that sit comfortably on the wrist and an extremely legible dial.Įven with its considerable presence, the Calibre was instantly recognizable on the wrist as a Cartier. They kicked things off with the Calibre de Cartier, the one that set the standard for all succeeding Calibre watches. For its audience to enjoy their in-house movements, Cartier introduced the Calibre, its first widely produced sports watch featuring a Cartier-made movement. It was a proud declaration of the brand’s readiness to create their own movements.Īs a complicated Geneva Seal watch, the Flying Tourbillon belonged to the haute horology category and carried a prohibitive price tag. These watches were the first to feature a Cartier manufacture movement and even earned the Geneva Seal, a prestigious mark of excellence for Swiss-made timepieces. That changed with the introduction of the Ballon Bleu Flying Tourbillon in 2008 and the Calibre de Cartier Flying Tourbillon in 2010. While Cartier has long been a master of creating timeless designs, one constant point of criticism was its dependence on base movements from other companies.
Here’s a retrospective on the game-changing Cartier Calibre collection.Ĭartier Calibre and Ballon Bleu Flying Tourbillon (photo: Sotheby’s)
By introducing the brand’s first serially produced in-house movement with an undeniably masculine design, the Calibre put Cartier alongside Rolex, Omega, and IWC in creating hard-wearing watches. The Cartier Calibre is one of the shining masterpieces from this segment. In the 2010s, the Maison sought to prove itself more than just a pretty face with robust and functional sports watches. From the iconic Tank to the sophisticated Rotonde, Cartier has come up with a long list of elegant designs that set the standard for fine watchmaking.
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