A $20 drug store watch will do if all you want is the time, but luxury watches are about more than just counting hours and minutes.
To be honest, many people buy luxury watches — generally, any watch priced at over $1,000 — because they are status symbols, planted on your wrist for all to see. They are also an investment, a finely crafted piece of bejeweled artwork to pass along to future generations. But most of all, they are pure functionality taken to the extreme, precision time-keepers tuned to split-second accuracy.
So I expected both mechanical perfection and a serious bling factor when I agreed to test the new Calibre de Cartier auto-winding watch, a $7,000 new release from the classic jeweler Cartier.
There are two notable firsts for Cartier here: this is the first watch caliber in the company’s history designed specifically for the men’s “sports” market, and it’s the first equipped with an automatic mechanical movement crafted entirely in-house at its La Chaux-de-Fonds workshop in Switzerland.
Cartier’s 1904-PS MC mechanical movement is an automatic mechanism — the watch is wound by kinetic energy, and the swing of your arm as you walk is enough to keep it ticking. But it’s particularly intricate and unique when compared to other automatic movements, and the technological standouts are numerous. It uses double barrels (most automatic watches traditionally have one), and this gives it a highly constant chronometry throughout the duration of the watch’s 48-hour power reserve. This means the watch will display time accurately and consistently for two days after you take it off your wrist, even though at that point it’s no longer getting wound by the movement of your arm. The Calibre also has a bi-directional winding system in place rather than a more conventional one-way winding of the gears. The rotor’s motion is smoothed by ceramic ball bearings instead of oil. This protects it from shock and makes trips to the repair shop less frequent. (This extra shock resistance must be where the “sports” angle comes in.)
Obviously, the accuracy and potential longevity of the inner mechanics should be the ultimate consideration as to whether or not a watch is worth the money. But let’s face it — at this price point, the thing should also look damn good.
The polished stainless steel bracelet, the understated design of the dial and the large 42mm case are all demonstratively masculine. The black dial sports a stamped contrasting white XII at 12 o’clock. There’s a small seconds counter at 6 o’clock, and the dial is topped with luminescent, sword-shaped hands. Today’s date peeks through a crescent-shaped inset. Flip it over, and some of the 186 hand-assembled components inside are visible through the crystal on the back of the exhibition case.
Our test watch’s stainless steel band came with enough links for a rich gorilla, but you can obviously remove the links to fit smaller wrists. Ours had a black dial, but it also comes in white, and there’s a lower-priced version with a leather band as well as some much-higher-priced models in various gold settings.
At well over a quarter pound (5.3 ounces to be exact) this hulking watch felt heavy in my palm, but surprisingly not heavy at all on my wrist. The shiny, stainless steel casing and band are solid without screaming “manly,” but on my wrist, it still felt like a wholesome dose of testosterone.
I wore the Calibre to an upscale restaurant during my testing period. The chatty waitress, admiring the watch, cracked, “Is that watch big or are you just glad to see me?” She got a big tip. But seriously, the Calibre de Cartier is thick at 10mm, though it certainly isn’t as thick as other watches of this class and design. And the austere, understated look does give the impression that the wearer has refined taste. For the one month loan period when I got to wear the watch everywhere, I felt like a million bucks.
WIRED The epitome of luxury watch-making both inside and out. Hand-assembled, automatic mechanical winding system will last for generations. Simple, classic design. Dead accurate 48-hour reserve. Water resistant to 100 feet.
TIRED Your wallet will take a serious bruising. As with any intricately assembled mechanical device, pricey expert servicing is required periodically.
Photos by Jon Snyder/Wired