This was a big year for men’s watches at Cartier. You may have read about the new Cartier Drive here and the other pre-SIHH releases that we covered in December of last year, but one that you may not have heard about yet is this Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Astromystérieux.
This watch is a fantastic example of the technical skills that Cartier possesses and doesn't show off enough. Cartier is known for their vintage (and modern) mystery clocks – Louis Cartier and Maurice Couet mastered the mystery clock mechanism in 1912, taking inspiration from the famous illusionist Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin. This year, Cartier decided to modify and apply this technology to the Rotonde de Cartier in their brand new Astromystérieux.
This watch is different from any watch I have seen in recent years. It is not just a mystery watch, but rather a mystery movement. Instead of just the hands being attached to the two moving crystals, the entire escapement, balance-wheel, gear train, and barrel are centralized under the hands so they move in sync.
The movement of the escapement, balance wheel, gear-train, and barrel is somewhat similar to a tourbillon in that it is suspended and is supported by a cage-like structure (the rotating sapphire crystals).
The Astromystérieux is 43.5 mm in diameter and the movement is a caliber 9462 manual-winding movement. This piece is limited to a series of 100 pieces. Pricing and details to come. For more information, please visit the Cartier website.
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