We interrupt Holiday programming on the site, to bring you a FIRST LOOK at what Cartier has in store for us in the upcoming Salon Internationale de Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) event in January 2019.

Cartier’s Prive Collection is a celebration of the different shapes of men’s iconic models. Following the retinreprtion of the Crash in 2015 and Tank Cintrèe in 2017, the Maison will be reintroducing the Tonneau as Limited Edition pieces.

Introduced in 1906 after the Santos in 1904, the Tonneau is one of Cartier’s oldest timepieces. Tonneau translates into “barrel”, and judging from part-ovalish and part-rectangular shape, it’s clear how the wristwatch got its name. The curved casing, designed to fit better to the wrist, was also a new modification, particularly when it came to wristwatches of the early 1900s. With its back casing coated in platinum, the vis armorer tube screws adorning the lugs, and a leather strap, the watch was considered “modern” and ahead of its time.

For SIHH 2019, the Tonneau comes redesigned in 2 models: an hours and minutes model, and in a skeleton dual time zone. The water-resistant oblong-shaped hours and minutes model comes with rhodium-plated roman numerals, a rail track, the new 1917 MC calibre, a ruby cabochon on the winding crown, leather strap, and screws on the lugs – elements fo which, remain Cartier’s House Codes until this day. Available in either pink gold or platinum, both are Limited Edition models of 100 pieces.

The skeleton dual time zone model (my favourite of the two because I’m obsessed with skeleton watches!) is a tribute to the Tonneau XL dual time zone model in the CPCP collection. While its ancestor had 2 separate mechanisms, Cartier has made the new skeleton dual time zone Tonneau run on one single movement: the 9919 MC Calibre. To ensure that the watchcase’s original form was retained, all wheels of the geardtrain had to be aligned between 12 and 6 o’clock, and modified to ensure that it fitted the curve of the watch’s case. Equipped with sapphire cabochons on each of the two crowns, the skeleton dual time zone model also comes in pink gold and platinum Limited to 100 pieces each, and a more exclusive version with baguette-cut diamond-set on platinum limited to just 20 numbered pieces.

Cartier’s new Tonneau amongst other novelties and models will be making their debut at SIHH 2019 next month, so stay tuned for more updates!

Images courtesy of Cartier