Last week, I was fortunate enough to be offered the opportunity to visit Paris at the request of Cartier, the famous French manufacturer of luxury jewellery and watches. As this trip would give me the chance to be present at the unveiling of the new Cartier Calibre De Cartier Diver and the new Tank MC Chronograph, this was a proposal that I accepted with great enthusiasm.
After travelling down to London St. Pancras on Monday 17th February, I stayed overnight at the Renaissance St Pancras in order to be up in time for an early start to Paris the following day. All of this was thankfully accomplished right on schedule, and I arrived in Paris business class to join the proceedings.
Upon my arrival, I was taken forthwith to a modern art gallery to go ahead with the proposed meeting with Cartier. This event was going to allow me to view a detailed presentation of the two new Cartier products, so I was only too keen to get there in all good time.
When I saw the new Cartier Diver and the Tank MC, I can honestly say that I was not disappointed. All variations of the Diver (see below) will be equipped with a full ceramic unidirectional bezel, but the timepiece will also be available in all steel, steel with an embellished rose gold bezel and even all rose gold for a superb degree of choice. The strap is also obtainable in rubber or steel, with a steel and rose gold bracelet being released to complement the matching timepiece. Personally, I suspect that the strap version will command the most appeal.
We already have two variations of the Diver – the Cartier Calibre De Cartier 18ct Pink Gold Dive watch and the Cartier Calibre De Cartier Stainless Steel Dive watch – available to pre-order at Banks Lyon, so you won’t have long to wait until its release.
When it comes to the Tank MC Chronograph (pictured below), the design variations were adroitly presented in all steel or rose gold, with both selections using a strap as the fastening mechanism. Beautiful, classic, elegant and, above all, entirely Cartier, I couldn’t have asked for any more from this new member to such a beloved family. You can rest assured that our family of Cartier Tank MC watches will remain fully up to date as soon as this new timepiece is accessible.
After the presentation I certainly wasn’t given time to dwell on what I’d seen, as we then headed straight to the Cartier boutique in Paris itself. This passed a thoroughly enjoyable time; I’m always surrounded by many beautiful Cartier watches at Banks Lyon, but what better place to experience what Cartier has to offer than in the heart of Paris itself?
Following this, I stayed overnight at the truly sumptuous hotel le Meurice on the Rue de Rivoli. You can see an image of our private dining room below, so I think it’s fair to say that I was well looked after!
Although the presentation was over at this point, I was greatly looking forward to the rest of my time with Cartier, as the following day I was able to visit the Grand Palais in Paris. Most of you will know that the Style and History of Cartier exhibition has been running here recently, and getting the chance to see these truly breathtaking jewellery pieces for myself was genuinely breathtaking.
Although it’s difficult to pick out a few items from such a royal assemblage, a few objects certainly held my eye for a particularly long time. The first of these is actually a collection of items; namely a few of the tiaras (see left) that were worn by various royal persons during the Cartier heyday of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Aside from these, I simply can’t leave the Patiala necklace and the ‘snake’ necklace unmentioned (both seen lower right). The former was created in 1928 for the Maharaja in control of the state of Patiala. Containing 2,930 diamonds, the central stone alone weighs in at 235 carats.
In contrast, the snake themed necklace was made for Mexican diva Maria Felix in 1968, and uses platinum, white and yellow gold in its articulated design. 2,472 brilliant cut diamonds are displayed within the piece, and this totals 178.21 carats (not to mention the two pear shaped emerald eyes). Even the underneath is enamelled in multiple colours; although this was mainly to ensure that is sits more smoothly around the neck.
It was a real privilege to see the exhibition at the Grand Palais before I took the Eurostar back to London, and the splendour of the jewellery collection was a fitting conclusion to a marvellous few days. I hope this blog has allowed you a small window into what it was actually like to be there, and I look forward to bringing you both new watches in future as part of our collection here at Banks Lyon.
If you’d like any more information about our forthcoming watch arrivals, or have any further questions about what we have in stock, please call us on 01524 38 48 58 today. We always welcome your enquiries, no matter what they might be, and I look forward to sharing more of the latest horological news with you in the coming months.
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