THE COLLECTION PRIVÉE CARTIER PARIS
In the last decade of the 20th century, the industry was still recovering from the impact of the quartz crisis, with consumers just starting to redevelop an interest in mechanical watches. In the midst of this, Cartier aimed to reestablish its credibility as a true watchmaking manufacture. From 1998 to 2008, the Collection Privée Cartier Paris brought back some of the most iconic Cartier designs from the past century, from the Crash to the Tank Cintrée, combined with high quality mechanical movements. In many cases, these distinctive designs hadn’t been produced for decades, speaking to the jeweller’s desire to place an increased focus on its heritage.
All the Collection Privée Cartier Paris - or CPCP for short - pieces housed high-quality mechanical movements, at a time when the jeweller was mostly associated with quartz. Not possessing the mechanical knowledge in-house, Cartier relied on a range of external suppliers, such as Jaeger-LeCoultre, Frédéric Piguet, Piaget or THA Ébauche - a collaborative movement manufacture between Vianney Halter, Denis Flageollet and François-Paul Journe. All the movements were manual-winding, rather than automatic, emphasising the traditional nature of this project.
All the Collection Privée Cartier Paris watches feature small, distinctive details, intended to set them apart. With the exception of the Cintrée, all of them are signed “Cartier Paris” on the dial, a subtle nod to their vintage pieces. They also display a central rose motif just beneath the hands, which radiates into a classic guilloché. Even the subtle engravings on the caseback are reminiscent of what they used to do in the early 20th century. As for the manual-winding movements, these were finished in-house by Cartier, with their interlaced “double C” pattern appearing across the collection.
Despite the brand’s global reach at the time, the Collection Privée models were produced in small quantities, with many explicitly limited to 50, 100 or 150 pieces. As for those that weren’t marked as part of a numbered series, evidence suggests that production often remained between 200 to 500 pieces. Eventually, partially due to difficulties and delays in getting parts from their various suppliers, the CPCP program came to an end.
The Tortue
First launched in 1912, the Tortue was the third wristwatch ever designed by Cartier, surprisingly predating the Tank by a handful of years. Inspired by the shape of a tortoiseshell, it was initially introduced as a time-only piece, though the French jeweller rapidly ventured into creating more complicated versions of the design, such as a minute repeater or a monopusher chronograph, both of which were unusual for the early 20th century.
Years later, the Tortue design became a core pillar of the Collection Privée Cartier Paris. In fact, the Tortue was the best-selling Collection Privée model in 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2005 – half the time the range was available. A range of different complications were integrated into the distinctive case, from a perpetual calendar to a monopusher chronograph.
Understood to have been released in 2004, the Tortue ref. 2688 combines two practical complications for everyday use, namely a power reserve and date function. These were limited to 150 pieces in white gold and 150 pieces in rose gold, joining the ranks of other Collection Privée pieces which were explicitly limited and numbered on the caseback, such as the Tank Cintrée or the Tank à Guichets.
A Contemporary Design
This Tortue 2688G displays its complications in a subtle, yet legible, way. The date function is placed at 12 o'clock, with a small arrow pointing towards the correct date, whilst the previous and following day are also displayed on either side. The date window is gently curved and sloped on the edges, following the rounded lines of the Tortue case. At 6 o'clock, the 43 hour power reserve indicator is lightly recessed, creating a satisfying level of depth, whilst also contrasting with the guilloché portions of the dial.
As is to be expected, the dial is signed “Cartier Paris” at 12 o’clock, a nod to some pieces from the early 20th century, which had the city’s name inscribed below the brand. The dial is made out of 18 carat gold, featuring a central rose motif just beneath the hands, which radiates into a traditional guilloché. Evidence suggests that the inspiration for this central rose came from vintage Cartier clocks, which often featured the distinctive decoration. The rail track and Roman numerals are stamped directly onto the dial in black ink, whilst the blued steel hands are executed in a legible Breguet-styled shape.
The two part Tortue case has elegant, curved lines, with polished surfaces found throughout. It measures 34mm by 33mm, with a lug to lug length of 43mm. This allows the watch to remain classic in appearance, whilst also being suited to contemporary tastes. At 10mm in thickness, it also manages to maintain some presence on the wrist and easily fits under the cuff of a shirt. The serial number is engraved on the caseback in the "N. 0XX/150" format.
The Movement
This white gold Cartier Tortue is powered by the Calibre 9750MC, which is based on a Piaget ébauche. Piaget helped develop a range of calibres for the Collection Privée Cartier Collection, drawing on their mechanical expertise, notably in the field of ultra-thin movements. The manual winding movement features 20 jewels and a mono-metallic balance, with 43 hours of power reserve.
To find out more about the the Collection Privée Cartier Paris, you can read our in-depth article on the topic.
