Cartier, the jeweler whose clientele have included the actress Elizabeth Taylor and the tsar of Russia , says they are pulling ahead of luxury rivals with watches that match the tenor of the times for less brazen exhibits of wealth. Cartier is gaining market share in part because the financial slowdown is steering customers to […]

The Richemont Group, owner of brands such as Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Van Cleef & Arples, and Vacheron Constantin declared their financial results for Q4 on the same day they opened Salon International De La Haute Horolgie (SIHH) show in Geneva. There was a sturdy growth in sales across the board, with America up 24% over last […]

The World Luxury Association announced the world’s leading luxury brands with Cartier positioned first in the jewelry group and Patek Philippe leading the luxury watch category. Watch brands also making the list included Vacheron Constantin, Piaget, Jaeger-Le Coultre, Piguet, Audemars Piguet, Blancpain, Rolex, Breguet, IWC and Franck Muller. Like Haute Time? Join our Facebook page […]

This is the 22nd time I have travelled to Geneva to cover the SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie), the invitation-only Richemont affair showcasing the new introductions of 18 elite Swiss watch brands. It is the first SIHH, however, about which I have written a blog. Instead of capping the night with a glass […]

The world of complicated watches has a hierarchy that begins with the simplest calendar mechanism and ascends through an increasingly sophisticated variety of mechanisms –some useful, some beautiful, some both.  Enthusiasts differ on personal favorites, but on one point there’s nearly universal agreement: the minute repeater is the pinnacle of complications both in terms of […]

They’re the traveler’s best friend–world time watches and their near-cousins, two time zone watches. They are designed to help jet-setters keep track of local time and the time in one or more other time zones. Their invention and development follows the evolution of travel itself, as a multiple time zone watch depends on the existence […]

Gearing up for SIHH in Geneva next month, Cartier will be unveiling a special timepiece inspired by the 1930s. Another one of the brand’s “grande complication” the white gold pocket watch with white gold chain features a tourbillon, perpetual calendar and monopusher chronograph. The design boasts skeletonized Roman numerals and a mechanical hand-wind Calibre 9436 […]

Cartier Singapore revealed a redesigned boutique in Ngee Ann City during an exclusive launch event.  The private celebration included a ribbon-cutting ceremony that was overseen by Christopher Kilaniotis, managing director of Cartier. Singapore’s most prominent socialites stepped out for the event that, of course, prominently displayed the French jeweler’s dazzling watches and jewelry.  Pieces from […]

Go into any boutique that sells luxury watches and you’ll be confronted with a scale of prices that rise sharply as watches become more complicated.  At the pinnacle is the complication known as the tourbillon (French for “whirlwind.”)  If you’ve never seen one before, one look and you’ll remember it forever; it’s a rotating spiderweb […]

Second to telling the time where you live, the most useful function a watch can have is the ability to tell you the time wherever else you might be. Travelers used to jet setting with a dedicated “world time” watch often never go back to a single time zone watch given the ease of reading […]

A watch unlike the vast majority of Cartier timepieces out there, limited to just 30 pieces, this just might be Cartier’s most expensive (non-precious stone laden) watch ever. The Rotonde Grande Complication Skeleton is a unique beast — a fighter in Cartier’s ongoing battle to proclaim itself as a serious watch maker. A battle that […]

Decades of success with its watches has inspired Cartier to finally open up a new door in its proverbial “house of horology,” with highly complex watches made in house. This almost flies straight in the face of what fashion-forward brands like Cartier are expected to have, which are nice looking, but mechanically simple watches. Without […]