17 April 2015

Event Post: Clé de Cartier Press Preview

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Last Friday, I attended the Cartier press presentation for the latest Clé de Cartier collection that will drop in boutiques later this month.

During the video presentation we learnt that Clé not only means “key” in French, but is also named as such because the watch’s crown resembles one. The new crown takes inspiration from the early days of traditional watchmaking, where a key was needed to wind up a clock. Super functional, the crown’s elongated shape makes it much easier to turn when adjusting the date and time in comparison to Cartier’s other models, and you can also pop the crown back into its original resting position without accidentally changing the time while doing so.

In 18k Gold and diamonds

In 18k White Gold

In Gold and diamonds on an alligator strap

The steel-and-gold/rose gold/ white gold combo will be available in Malaysia in September, and like the rest of the collection, are available in 3 sizes: 32mm, 36mm and 42mm.

Steel and Gold

Steel and Rose Gold

After the presentation, we were given the opportunity to try on each piece, and were told to turn the crown to listen out for a soft clicking sound. While I didn’t quite appreciate the new round but yet tapered convex shape thanks to the gold surrounding the face and bezel, it rested really well on the wrist, and looked very slim and sleek from the side profile in comparison to the thicker, and more convex Ballon Bleu. Speaking of the Ballon, the prices for the Clé de Cartier haven’t been finalised yet, but we were told that they would retail at approximately 6% less than the Ballon Bleu range.

42mm (my favourite size!) in white gold with diamonds

36mm in 18k yellow gold

The skeleton back

The men’s size, but I prefer it on my wrist compared to the ladies sizes.

Next we were asked if we wanted to also try on the pieces shown at this year’s Salon Internationale de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in January, and of course it was a unanimous yes!