Over at the HODINKEE Shop, we’re constantly adding new products, and today we’re proud to announce that we’re now carrying cheap replica Cartier Time Art: Mechanics of Passion by our own Jack Forster. As a special add-on for our launch of the book, Jack has also signed every copy in the first batch.
Among the highest echelons of world-class watch collectors, indeed Rolex and Patek Philippe hold very special positions. However, the third peak in this mountain range of the most important watch brands is that of early Cartier.Cheap fake Cartier Time Art watches describes the progressive designs and significance of Cartier’s creations in great detail and with beautiful images, but the book also offers much more. Notably, Jack focuses on the exquisite movements that powered those iconic timepieces, either provided by LeCoultre or later developed in-house. This book has become the reference guide to understanding all Cartier timepieces, both vintage and new.
Only this first batch of books have been signed, and once they’re gone, they’re gone. Read our full overview and purchase replica Cartier Time Art watches right here.
For 2015, Cartier has released the brand new Clé de Cartier collection of watches for both men and women. We included the Clé de Cartier as one of our top 10 new watches for SIHH 2015, and for good reason – it sports not only a completely new case design, but also a new movement. While the 2015 Clé watches are exclusively going to be offered cheap replica cartier watches in 18k gold (various colors), we anticipate that Cartier will flesh out the Clé de Cartier collection more over the next few years and likely offer steel models as well. So let’s go over the Cartier Clé de Cartier timepieces for 2015, and see what makes Cartier’s new dress watch collection interesting.
“Clé” stands for “key” and refers to the crown of the new watch which isn’t your typical round crown. Instead, the Cartier Clé de Cartier watches have long crowns that offer an interesting tactile experience. The crowns lock into place and, when turned, feel like you are literally winding the key of an old clock or pocket watch. Set into the “key style” crowns are blue sapphire cabochons – a hallmark of most Cartier timepieces.
While Cartier has designed the Clé de Cartier collection for both men and women, the larger model is 40mm wide and what guys will gravitate to. The case is more or less tonneau-shaped with a round dial. The case is also curved and sits on the wrist with incredible comfort. Cartier shows their unique ability to offer a refined, unique, yet familiar look right off the bat. There is nothing I find more exciting than a brand new family of watches that will be built out to include a range of models over the years. Cartier was last able to accomplish this with new model families such as the Ballon Bleu and the Calibre.
Looking at the Cartier Clé de Cartier case carefully, you can admire the elegance and sophistication Cartier wanted to make sure it evoked. Cartier was certainly successful in producing a design that incorporates a series of very interesting lines when looked at closely, as well as a shape that is attractive when viewed from afar.
There is a certain “retro-ness” to the Cartier Clé de Cartier that comes from the tonneau-style case that has thick sides which slope down and become the lugs. This creates the sense that the watch is just a little bit larger than it is, and at 40mm wide (in its largest form), I think it makes for a handsome men’s model. I can’t overstate how comfortable the Clé is on the wrist. This is due to the curvature of the case which allows the watch to sit low and snug on the wrist.
The comfort is also emphasized by the available bracelet (as seen in the video) – which is also a totally new design. In this day and age, new watch bracelet designs are rare – which is a shame. Only brands like Cartier seem to even be coming out with new bracelets, while most other brands seem to take the route of pairing watches with straps. The Cartier Clé de Cartier is available on alligator straps but, in my opinion, is best suited to the bracelet which has been specifically designed for the Clé.
What I first noticed about the Clé de Cartier’s bracelet is how thin it is. Many metal bracelets today have very thick links – especially in contrast to more historic bracelets. To see an elegantly thin bracelet is not only welcome but means that you’ll have a very comfortable experience on the wrist. Thick metal bracelets are often synonymous with sport watches and thinner bracelets are more common on dress watches. As new dress watches with bracelets are more and more uncommon, it is almost surprising to see a new one done right.
I’ve mentioned in the past that the production of new bracelets requires a lot of R&D as well as the production of a lot of additional parts. Only brands with an economy of scale like best replica Cartier watches, Rolex, TAG Heuer, Omega, etc… can feasibly enter the world of making new bracelets. In a world of low production numbers and limited editions – we can’t expect to enjoy the benefits of new case and bracelet designs all that often.
Returning to the Cartier Clé de Cartier, let’s look at the dial. Here, you see a lot of typical Cartier lines and features, but with enough new little details to make the Clé de Cartier collection distinct from the rest of what Cartier has to offer. Black Roman numerals? Check. Blued-steel hands? Yup. I actually thought the hands were black original (and that would have been cool), but they are blued steel. You also have a perfectly symmetrical dial with the date window being placed at six o’clock. Oh, I should mention that, while the hands and hour markers are black on the men’s models, the smaller models for women have blue hour markers and hands.
While the men’s Clé de Cartier models are 40mm wide (available in 18k white, pink, and yellow gold for 2015), the women’s models come in either a 31mm- or 35mm-wide size. All have automatic movements. Speaking of movements, in addition to the Clé de Cartier’s new design, we get a new movement. It is the in-house made luxury fake Cartier 1847 MC automatic watches. Similar to the 1904 MC movement, the 1847 MC has central hands for the minutes, hours, and seconds, as well as an semi-instant-jumping date. The automatic rotor winds in both directions, and it has a power reserve of 42 hours, operating at 4Hz.
In 18k gold, the Cartier Clé de Cartier will have a lot of competition at its price level – but then again, it does have that Cartier caché to it. I think that Cartier will be rather successful with a model such as this and as a dress watch or casual elegant watch, it is a win. Now, let’s just wait for some steel options. Price for the Cartier Clé de Cartier is $21,000 for the 18k white gold model on a leather strap seen here, $19,700 for the exact fake Cartier watches rose gold version on leather strap, and $36,600 in yellow gold on bracelet.
Ever since Cartier released the 41mm-wide version of the Cartier Clé watch with the “mysterious hours” complication (hands-on here), I’ve been quietly in love with this still newer case design as the foundation of interesting, more high-end models that are nevertheless simple in their presentation (the Cartier Clé collection as a whole was introduced at SIHH 2015). SIHH 2016 sees the debut of the Clé de Cartier Automatic Skeleton, which takes Cartier’s now popular in-house-made and distinctly skeletonized watch +movements a step further by adding automatic winding – a first for a movement of this type produced by cheap replica Cartier watches.
Skeletonized mechanical watches are enjoying a sort of new golden age because the visually very satisfying decoration process also happens to help watch lovers justify why they spend the big bucks on luxury timepieces. It isn’t always enough to have a mental reminder that your high-end timepiece contains a nice movement – sometimes you want a constant reminder on your wrist. Moreover, the skeletonization process offers a very real view into the operation of these tiny machines which track the time. The emotional enjoyment one receives from viewing the moving gears, beating regulation system, and hand-finished surfaces should never be underestimated.
The challenge in offering a skeletonized movement is in making it both visually attractive, as well as legible and practical. Sometimes movements that were never meant to be skeletonized receive the decorative process and aren’t that amazing-looking as a result. Over the last few years, we’ve seen more and more movements designed from the ground up with skeletonization in mind. Cartier isn’t shy about the fact that it meant for the in-house calibre 9621 MC to be cut up and decorated. In fact, the signature Roman numeral hour markers are actually part of the movement bridge structure itself.
With that said, the challenge in maintaining a high degree of legibility in the Cartier Clé Automatic Skeleton is due to the fact that the face is really a fake Cartier watches skeletonized dial that sits on top of a skeletonized movement. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this from Cartier, and the result is something that does feel beautiful albeit impractical from the perspective of daily utility. Granted, this isn’t going to be the most precise-to-read timepiece you’ll probably own, but the blued steel sword-style hands over the full scale of Roman numeral or baton hour markers make the Cartier Clé Automatic Skeleton watch convenient to live with, at least.
With its retro-style cusion-shaped case and wide lugs, the 41mm-wide (water resistant to 30 meters) size feels good even if the strap feels a bit proportionally narrow given the overall size of the case. The case is also a stately 11.45mm thick, which is a size that makes itself known, but also isn’t overly thick by any means. Of course, despite all my talk of practicality, the Cartier Clé Automatic Skeleton arrives exclusively in a 950 palladium case. If you prefer, Cartier also offers a version of the Cartier Clé Automatic Skeleton with brilliant-cut diamonds set on the case.
The in-house-made Cartier 9621 MC is both attractive and practical, operating at 4Hz (28,800bph) with about 48 hours of power reserve. Produced from 165 parts, the automatic rotor is also highly skeletonized being produced from 22k white gold. Given the gold’s weight, I am sure it provides enough mass for appropriate automatic winding efficiency.
Don’t forget that, because this is a cheap replica Cartier Clé case, you get the nifty Clé (“key”) winding key-style crown. This rectangular-shaped crown has a fixed resting position to fit evenly with the case and a very interesting tactile experience when being wound. Yes, it is fun to use the crown, but I prefer not being forced to use the crown all the time, which is why I am happy the 9621 MC movement is an automatic.
Minor downsides of any dramatically skeletonized watch such as this is that your wrist will always provide a backdrop as your peer through the timepiece. The notion of being able to see right through the movement and inspect all of its little angles is great, but oftentimes you need to beautify your own wrist in order to make it work properly. The approach Arnold & Son took with their Time Pyramid is one that I would like more companies to explore. The newest version of the Time Pyramid in steel has a piece of “one-way mirror” that when viewed from the dial side is literally a sort of silvery mirror, and when viewed from the caseback offers an only marginally opaque view through the rear of the watch. Just throwing that out there because I know how sexy watches like the Cartier Clé Automatic Skeleton (and many other skeletonized watches) look in the abstract – only to result in a different consumer opinion once they put the watches on their own wrists.
In any event, Cartier does not exactly venture deep into new territory with the cheap fake Cartier Clé Automatic Skeleton, but this is nevertheless a useful and beautiful evolution that appropriately extends the focus on their haute horology work in the right direction – for those who can budget for timepieces at this level. Price is $56,000 in palladium and $119,000 with diamonds.
