Cartier is, without a doubt, a watchmaking icon. This is a supremacy not only “subjective” but also supported by purely practical factors. For example, again this year it has overwhelmingly taken the second place for sales in the year 2022 according to Morgan Stanley’s Swiss watch industry report.
I was recently asked which, for me, were the most Iconic models of this Maison. I assure you that it was not at all easy to choose and describe in so few lines timepieces that encapsulate such strong and marked stories, features and particularities as these models, however we tried!
Tank de Cartier
Let’s start right off with a bang! As far as I am concerned, Tank de Cartier is without a shadow of a doubt the quintessential Cartier watch. This timepiece, in its different variants, has deservedly and overwhelmingly taken scepter and crown in my personaòe list of Cartier icons!
It is said that for its creation in 1917, Louise Cartier took inspiration from Renault tanks, a story reflected in the name and appearance of this wonderful watch! Tank de Cartier makes its simplicity its uniqueness. Minimalist appearance, functionality and elegance immediately established it as an Icon of style.
After more than a hundred years and countless versions, Tank de Cartier continues to keep its essence and personality intact and untouched even in its newest and most recent edition marked 2022.
Santos Dumont
Santos de Cartier was born as a watch intended for aviation. In the early 1900s, Alberto Santos-Dumont, after whom this timepiece would be named, an experienced aviator and ultralight pioneer and a well-known member of French high society, complained several times to Cartier about the difficulties related to the enjoyment of pocket watches during flights.
Thus, in 1904, the first prototype of the Santos was made as well as the French Maison’s first wristwatch. In 1911, it would be officially produced and marketed, but it was not until 2018, the year it was dusted off, that this watch would touch the pinnacle of its fame, as it was revamped and reintroduced to the public.
The Santos has retained its typical geometric lines and distinctive exposed screws on the bezel, keeping its classic essence intact but flying into modernity and consecrating itself as a Cartier icon thanks to its more than 100 years of history.
For the full story on Santos, read our article by clicking here.
Pasha de Cartier
Pasha de Cartier shares a similar story to the Santos de Cartier. The Sultan of Marrakech, El Glaoui, nicknamed Pasha, wished to own a watch that was suitable for both royal engagements and sporting activities and that was completely waterproof. Louis Cartier, in 1932, made the Pasha de Cartier for the Sultan, the Maison’s first waterproof watch as well as one of the first in watchmaking history.
However, it must wait until 1985 to finally see this model marketed and offered to the public.
For more information about this watch, read our dedicated article.
Pebble de Cartier
Pebble de Cartier is one of the forerunners of watchmaking as we know it today. Cartier London was undoubtedly the company in the group that most experimented and innovated between the 1960s and 1970s. For me, the Pebble model is a prime example.
Pebble is inspired by that thin, round stone that we look for, at the edge of the banks of lakes and rivers, for the sole purpose of tossing it to the surface of the water to blast it as many times as possible before we see it sink.
After fifty years, the Pebble de Cartier model has been revised and re-launched in the market, reconfirming the appreciation already achieved in 1972 and establishing itself among the Icons of Cartier.
Cheich de Cartier
The Cheich was born in 1983 from the incredible collaboration between the French Maison and the most famous transnational race in the World: Paris-Dakar. The watch was made as a prize intended for the winner of the Cartier Challenge, a challenge deemed impossible to overcome: winning the Paris-Dakar twice in a row. Only Gaston Rahier succeeded in the feat of making the Cartier Challenge his own, in 1984 and 1985.
Only four Cheich de Cartier specimens exist: one intended for Gaston Rahier, one for a possible female winner, one for a possible new male winner, and the fourth and final specimen, currently considered lost, offered to Thierry Sabine by Alain-Dominique Perrin.
Its particular appearance, the result of the iconic collaboration, its history, its print run, and its incredible uniqueness prompted me to include it among Cartier’s most Iconic models.
To learn more about this watch, read our dedicated article.
Crash de Cartier
The Crash has overwhelmingly taken a niche in my list. Until a few decades ago I don’t think it would have been included among Cartier’s most iconic models, yet in just a few years it has gone from being a niche model to one of the most desired watches in the world.
Unlike the classicism of some previously discussed models, Crash de Cartier stands out and emerges precisely because of its innovation.It was born in the 1960s in cold, gray, elegant London, a setting that had nothing in common with an idea as revolutionary as it was crazy. According to Francesca Cartier Brickell, a descendant of Jean-Jacques Cartier, the Crash is a watch born from the idea of “taking an oval, pinching it at one point and inserting a crease in between.”
Its completely illogical lines far from conventionality, its being more art than functional object, the stories behind the idea of its creation, what it represents and conveys, as far as I’m concerned Crash de Cartier is Cartier’s greatest work and deserves to be included among the maison’s most iconic models.
We have elaborated on the Crash de Cartier in our article found at this link.
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