Cartier, which announced the theme of this year’s Watches&Wonders as ‘The Art of Metamorphosis’, defined itself as a ‘Magicien’ and proved its elegant realm like a magician or alchemist who creates objects of desire with various metals and stones through the Maison’s special novelties. While the Tank à Guichets, a timeless cult watch born in 1928, made a splendid return as the 9th edition of the Cartier Privé collection (>> Go to the related Timeforum report), the Tank Louis replica Cartier, the model answer to classic watches, showed off its unchanging presence by changing to an automatic movement (>> Go to the related Timeforum report). And a series of jewelry watches based on the DNA of a high jeweler and the synergy of creativity and know-how as a watchmaker were enough to show the excellence of the Maison. Let’s take a look at the beautiful new jewelry watches of the Maison that have been reborn through the keen reinterpretation of Marie-Laure Cérède, Cartier’s creative director of jewelry and watchmaking.
Tressage, which means ‘weaving’ or ‘woven work’ in French, literally stands out with its unique voluminous design made by twisting and twisting gold materials. Cartier has been presenting jewelry or bangle-shaped watch designs with the Tressage design since the 1940s. In other words, you can see that it is not a completely new design, but a design rediscovered from the Maison’s heritage. As they pride themselves on being ‘magicians’, it would be difficult to find something Cartier has not tried, whether it be jewelry design or watch design. Most things can be pulled out from the Maison’s endless archives at any time. Coincidentally, Tressage is a creation that is even more meaningful in that it is a legacy left by Jean Toussaint, Cartier’s first female creative director from 1933 to the 1960s, and the current female creative director of the Maison, Marie-Laure Cérède, has taken notice of it and is carrying it on as a new type of watch design.
The new Tressage watch in 2025 boasts a unique shape with a twisted line made of gold and diamond pave that wraps around both sides of the case and connects to the strap. It looks completely different from the heritage Tressage watch designs that were occasionally introduced in the 1940s and 1960s. In my personal opinion, if you just glance at the silhouette from the side, it reminds you of the Ohmu from ‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’ by Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki. By increasing the size of the parallel shaft in the Tank watch and exaggerating it, it was reborn as a new design that uniquely fuses watchmaking and jewelry making. The contrast between the curved Tressage decoration and the straight thin shaft that makes up the middle case (dial) also adds to the fun to look at. On the one hand, it also signifies the continuation of the Maison’s lineage of unique modern jewellery watches, which will continue with the Maillon de Cartier in 2020, the Coussin de Cartier in 2022, and the Jewelled Tank watch and Reflection de Cartier in 2024.
The Tressage watch is available in four versions: a yellow gold model without gem settings, two models with curved Tressage pieces decorated with gold and diamond pave settings, and one model with a more intense look, set with colored gemstones such as blue sapphires in addition to diamonds.
The combination of a black lacquer dial on a yellow gold case and a shiny black calfskin strap creates a striking two-tone contrast. It is the only model without diamonds.
A total of 466 brilliant-cut diamonds (approximately 6.3 carats) are set on the yellow gold and white gold case and buckle, and the white gold dial is also decorated with 156 brilliant-cut diamonds (0.6 carats). The replica watches comes with a shiny beige calfskin strap as standard, and an optional black calfskin strap is provided.
The white gold case is set with a total of 916 brilliant-cut diamonds (approximately 12.2 carats), and the white gold dial is also decorated with 156 brilliant-cut diamonds (approximately 0.6 carats). The navy blue calfskin strap is provided as standard, and an interchangeable shiny black calfskin strap is also provided.
From the white gold case to the ardillon buckle, a total of 570 brilliant-cut diamonds (approximately 5.7 carats) and 330 sapphires (approximately 5.9 carats) are set to emphasize the splendidness. The white gold dial is also decorated with 156 brilliant-cut diamonds (approximately 0.6 carats). In addition to the basic shiny navy blue calfskin strap, an additional navy blue calfskin strap is provided that can be replaced.
The four versions have a case diameter of 25.7 x 56.2 mm and a thickness of approximately 11.5 mm based on the height of the most voluminous upper part of the arch-shaped twist detail. The case supports 30 m of daily life and is equipped with a high-precision Swiss quartz caliber. The Tressage watch is scheduled to be released globally around September, and the official retail price, as of the opening of Watches & Wonders, starts at 36,000 EUR for the yellow gold model, 68,000 EUR for the yellow gold and white gold diamond pavé-setting model, 110,000 EUR for the white gold full-pavé diamond-setting model, and 120,000 EUR for the white gold diamond pavé and sapphire-setting model.