Cartier's Belle Époque Pocket Watch

Love this early example of the Cartier brothers' foray into timepieces. It wasn't until a few years later that Cartier's wristwatches for men (like the Santos and the Tank) were released onto the market but this example is interesting in that it is such a feminine take on the pocket watch, complete with Russian-inspired pink engine-turned guilloche enamel and white rims. Russia (which, thanks to the Romanovs, held much of the wealth at that time) had been a hugely significant influence on the Cartiers' creative development ever since Carl Fabergé's masterpieces had stolen the show at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. And when Louis visited St Petersburg a few years later, he wrote back to his father in excitement: "I am at a point of rejuvenation of my ideas and delighted to have come here....The stay here is more favourable concerning ideas than in Paris". Created at the turn of the 20th century, this miniature Belle Époque lady's pocket watch is super sweet - less than 3cm wide and just 16 grams. The dial has been painted with Arabic numerals (in contrast to many of the slightly later Cartier watches which tended to have Roman numbers) and has blued Breguet steel hands. Underneath the block capital "Cartier" signature is written "Paris - Londres" in italics, suggesting to me that it was made sometime between 1902-1909 as New York doesn’t feature yet (Cartier New York opened in 1909, 7 years after the London branch and 62 years after the Paris firm was founded in 1847). I also wonder if Louis’ great watch collaborator, Edmond Jaeger, who specialised in extra-flat cases, might have been involved.

This piece may be over 100 years old but I think you could get away with wearing it today...perhaps as a pendant on a gold chain with a pair of jeans and a crisp white shirt? Still keeps time too... #pocketwatch #thecartiersbook