The Cartier Tank Mini: Keeping the Flame of Small Watches Alive

The rise of tiny watches among collectors is a recent phenomenon, driven by the proliferation of social media content that has captured the imagination of enthusiasts across generations. This surge in demand for smaller, intricately designed timepieces has garnered significant attention, especially with male celebrities embracing ladies’ watches, sparking a wider conversation about the trend of ‘men in small watches.’ Furthermore, luxury brands are challenging traditional notions of gender in their latest offerings, adopting a more fluid approach that reflects the evolving landscape of the watch industry. This shift indicates a growing openness and inclusivity in watch design and appeal.

The unveiling of the Mini Tank may not be surprising given its alignment with current trends. Yet, its diminutive size remains a point of fascination, provoking strong reactions, and still feels classic. The stark contrast of this petite timepiece on a robust wrist is visually striking, prompting curiosity to witness its actual appearance firsthand. Numerous enthusiasts would acquire one simply to experience the unique sensation of wearing a different style of watch.

The new Cartier Tank Mini LC, measuring 24mm x 16.5mm, features a quartz movement encased in Gold with Roman Indexes and is water-resistant up to 30 meters and features a beautifully glossy black alligator leather strap. The main distinction from its larger modern counterpart is the absence of a chemin-de-fer minutes track. Instead, a subtle line adorns the petite dial, ensuring a clean and uncluttered look. Its smaller dimensions do not detract from its timeless elegance; instead, the watch maintains its classic allure without feeling like a timid miniature version of its larger predecessor.

However, my enthusiasm for the Tank Mini was unexpected. It’s not just small in a traditional “ladies’ watch” sense but rather embodies a wear-what-you-like attitude. Each person has their own way of styling the Tank Mini. The piece strikes a balance between delicacy and practicality, making it easily stackable yet distinct from jewelry-like pieces such as the Baignoire bangle. This downsizing reflects confidence in market trends, responding directly to a clear demand rather than experimenting.

This isn’t a “ladies’ watch” but a “Tiny Tank for all.” Cartier isn’t marketing it divisively; they’re leaving it to us to decide who it fits. It’s a step towards gender fluidity, not just a smaller Tank LC but a mini Tank LC in its own league.
Priced at roughly about $7,000

Reflection de Cartier

The maison also unveiled its latest Reflection de Cartier timepieces, blending elements of jewelry and watches in a unique manner unlike others.

The new Reflection de Cartier leans towards a more classic approach to high jewelry watch design compared to the Baignoire bangle. Its core essence echoing that women crave contemporary, sculptural, and bold gold jewelry infused with timekeeping elements. Offered in plain yellow gold, plain rose gold, and three gem-set options in white gold, this quartz-powered watch is discreetly housed within the cuff’s opening. It has Roman Indexes, with Water resistance to 30 meters. The “reflection” occurs on the opposite side of the cuff’s opening, projecting onto the polished gold surface, creating a captivating reverse time-telling optical illusion. Cartier’s recent endeavors clearly showcase a penchant for enchanting feats. To further elaborate the gemstone options: The first design showcases exclusively white snow-set brilliant-cut diamonds. The second option combines white diamonds with chrysoprase, obsidian, emeralds, and Paraiba tourmalines. Lastly, the third variant includes white diamonds alongside opal, tiger’s eye, amethysts, and spessartite garnets.

In all, there are five new Reflection de Cartier models available.

Diameter: 18.4 x 17.5 mm
Thickness: 8.9 mm

To conclude, the Reflection de Cartier serves as a bold counterpart to the delicate Baignoire bangle, offering a weightier and geometric statement that positions it as a strong contender against the Bulgari Serpenti or a vintage Piaget cuff.

Cartier’s Wild New Animal Jewelry Watch Collection

While Cartier has unveiled numerous captivating new timepiece collections at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024, it’s this high-jeweled, high-art series that is truly stealing hearts and capturing attention. Their master artisans showcase their expertise with precision in the creation of several new watches, such as the crocodile, tiger, and panther designs, which are meticulously crafted as three-dimensional sculptured timepieces adorned with diamonds and gemstones.

This year introduces multiple interpretations of the crocodile and panther, but the standout Crocodile Jewelry Watches feature the creature’s body and head as the case, encircling the round dial. Available in three white gold variations, each adorned with a distinct color palette of gemstones, these watches showcase the crocodile’s sculpted form, with its head and body encompassing the case from 10:00 to 7:00, ending with the tail elegantly sweeping onto the dial at 7:00. The space between 7:00 and 10:00 is entirely gem-set, complementing the gem-set dial. In each rendition, the crocodile’s body is exquisitely adorned with diamonds.

One variation features a watch entirely set with diamonds, including the dial, case, and crocodile motif. The second version showcases a diamond crocodile set against a backdrop of diamonds and sapphires on both the case and dial. The third iteration boasts a diamond-set bracelet, crocodile design, and a dial adorned with diamonds, sapphires, tourmalines, and emeralds. In all cases, the sculpted crocodile, meticulously set with gems, features a captivating emerald eye.

Another standout is the Panther Jewelry watch, featuring the meticulously sculpted body and head of a panther encircling the round case. The panther is adorned with diamonds and showcases a black enamel spot motif, complemented by a case and dial set with rhodolite garnets, spessartite garnets, onyx, and a mix of yellow and white diamonds.

Another series of exquisite timepieces takes form as sculptures, featuring the head of wild animals—panther, tiger, or crocodile—extending from the bracelet and reaching onto the watch case with their jaws, almost as if ready to seize the lustrous, coveted timepiece. Each of these three watches showcases a sinewy bracelet meticulously set with gemstones, enhancing their allure and craftsmanship. The panther, crafted in 18-karat gold, is adorned with diamonds, while the crocodile features a striking combination of diamonds and emeralds, reflecting its natural habitat. As for the tiger, it is embellished with spinels, spessartite garnets, and yellow and orange sapphires, with a black lacquer nose to authentically replicate the stripes of this enigmatic feline.

Cartier also introduces a series of Animal Jewelry watches that offer a more abstract interpretation of the animals. These timepieces reflect the animals’ coats through a round case intricately adorned with gemstones surrounding a marquis-shaped dial. Variations include a case featuring stripes made of tsavorites, diamonds, and black lacquer, another with black spinel and diamonds, and a rose gold version with rubies, diamonds, and black lacquer. The design leaves observers pondering whether they depict zebras, a blend of zebra and crocodile or tiger, especially when viewed from different angles due to the multiple layers and levels of the case.

In summary, Cartier’s new collection of Animal Jewelry Watches, all featuring quartz movements, is both mesmerizing and enigmatic, drawing viewers in with allure yet hinting at a subtle sense of anticipation. It’s this captivating charm that Cartier’s master designers and artisans aim for, ensuring that every design holds an element of surprise. This collection is a must-see for all enthusiasts.

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A luminous steel mesh, a gleaming gold bangle or a dainty gold bracelet – what would you pick to adorn your wrist with? JAMM brings you a selection of timepieces you can carry on your wrist this summer.

Cartier Baignoire

This effortlessly chic timepiece has seen quite a few changes since its creation in 1912. With a shift in scale and function this year, this sophisticated piece of art also doubles as jewellery. Simple yet elegant, this watch transpires to be the quintessential match this summer. Delicate on the wrist and a treat for the eyes, you certainly can’t go wrong with this one! The dial is capped with a rich gold ribbon in this new design. The distinctive oval shaped dial is transformed into a bezel. This innovative design showcases the sensuous specifications of the piece while ensuring great comfort owing to its impeccable style. Delicate, precise and dainty – Isn’t that exactly what you need this summer?

Van Cleef and Arpels Sweet Alhambra Watch

The Alhambra theme, which debuted in 1968 has clearly stood the test of time. This splendid piece is welcomed with a variety of priceless materials, hues and graceful cuts into its iconic  collection. Looking for something light yet classy? This timepiece is intricately crafted with a beautiful and fresh floral design that is ideal for your summer collection. The 18K rose gold bracelet, consisting of a gleaming pink mother of pearl, rests lightly on your wrist and exudes femininity and gentleness. It is ideally suited for the summer with its warm colour, satiny surface and a lustrous shine. The beauty of this watch lies not only in its 18K rose gold bezel but also in its Guilloche 18K rose gold dial. Is this timepiece going to make its way into your wardrobe? Let us know!!

Chanel Première Gourmette Chain Watch

Chanel’s Première Gourmette Chain Watch personifies excellence and everlasting beauty. Breathable, airy and contemporary – its steel chain bracelet can take you through the day and into the night. A perfect companion for every look, it’s not only simple and breezy but also compelling and modern. The steel case perfectly complements the black lacquered dial.

Gucci Diamantissima Watch, 27mm

The Diamtissima watch by Gucci consists of a remarkable diamante design which is carved into its case. The steel mesh bracelet is breathable and light, making it ideal for this climate. Delicate, gentle and fine – this watch could be a great choice this summer.

These were some of our summer saviours! Let us know which one is your favourite. Having said that, this season is not just about the sticky sweat, scorching sun and the unbearable heat. It’s also about a serene sky and a radiant day. Which one did you like? Write to us at hello@jammindia.com

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in the heart of Geneva, where 48 Maisons exhibited their latest novelties, I experienced, touched, felt and tried the best of the best timepieces! Dancing to the rhythms of Watch Movements, not only I was awestruck by the leading players like Rolex, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Montblanc, Cartier and many more, but also delighted to discover interesting timepieces from many Independent brands like U-boat, Beauregard, Chronoswiss, etc

What better way to kickstart this year than with watches – something I am so passionate about. Watches and Wonder 2023 recently concluded with a bang. One of the largest watch exhibitions held in Geneva, Switzerland was. This may be my 25th  visit, but as always I was left mesmerized by how far the fine watchmaking community has come – the novelties i.e. the new launches, the trends, the booths, the press conferences, all packed in 7 days of events, meetings and presentations. Of course it was not all work and no play. If you know me by now, I live and breathe timepieces! This was all play for me…

This year, 48 watch brands, aka maisons, participated in the exhibition. That is 10 more than last year. What was new this year was that Watches & Wonders was open to the Public on the last 2 days of the exhibition. And we hear the tickets for visitors were all sold out! So yes, bigger, better and crazier. 

I caught up with the Man himself, Mr Matthieu Humair  – CEO Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation, on how successful the 2023 edition was and what we could expect in the coming years. He mentioned how more and more young people were at the exhibition and the average age was 35 years old. He also said that while they were all sold out for the public day, the numbers also grew phenomenally as compared to the previous years. And overall, it took almost a year to prepare an exhibition of this stature. With the brands, hotels, logistics and even the government being involved, everyone comes in and contributes their bit to make it a success.

Watches and Wonders 2023 was definitely bigger and crazier than ever. Presenting Seven Strong Trends that I discovered into the land of Watchmaking. 
Let’s begin! 

1. The first trend was the overarching colour that many maisons embraced and released their masterpeices That was… Grey. Grey is the new black! . To share a few spectacular pieces that left me in love with grey coloured watches were Montblanc’s 1858 iced sea automatic date and  1858- geosphere Chronograph 0 Oxygen The 8000, IWC’s Ingenieur automatic watch, Parmigiani’s Platinum cultural Calendar, Baume & Mercier’s Riviera men’s collection and Taghuer’s Carrera Date watch.

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2. The second trend I observed was Less is indeed More – Over the years, watch exhibitions invited the watch community- press and retail to experience all the launches for the entire year. While the 2022 edition saw few brands showcasing only 1 or 2 novelties, the 2023 edition saw many brands adopting this trend of Less is indeed More. For Brands like Ulysee Nardin, the entire exhibition revolved around a Single watch, ie Freak. Ms. Virginie Franceries, CMO At Ulysse Nardin with regards to this Freak Nation says that they wanted to focus on their booth and truly make it a Freaky concept – making it innovative, crazy, freaky and of course an interesting photo opportunity for your social media! 

 While people are freaking out on Ulysse Nardin,  the Roger Dubuis booth also focused on their One concept watch – The Monovortex Split-Seconds Chronograph, which was the highlight of the booth! 

3) Moving on, the next trend and a very interesting trend that I observed was DIALS!! Yes, the face of the watch.  I am sure you agree, the first thing we see in a watch is the dial of the watch. This time, the dials did the talking for many brands. Instead of a serene, plain watch face, I saw brands introducing mesmerizing patterns, techniques, enameling, motifs to the dials of the latest launches. Dials have been historically loved by watchmakers for introducing new techniques and craftsmanship.

From Grand Feu style works at Patek Philippe, to textured grey glacier patterned dials at Montblanc—texture is in on the dials. Grand Feu technique allows building up different layers on the dials of the watch. Due to this each layer has to sit beautifully to finally have a smooth enameling of the dial. 

Rolex ‘s debut of the emoji watch was the talk of the town! The  Day-Date 36 Puzzle Motif, shows an interesting and colourful puzzle design on its face. At 12 o’clock, it replaces the days of the week with the words “Happy, Eternity, Gratitude, Peace, Faith, Love and Hope,” and at 3 o’clock you get a selection of emojis depending on the day of the month.

I also had the chance to experience – live Guilloche engraving on the dial at the Chronoswiss booth, where the craftsman mentioned he can only work on 3 dials per day. Can you imagine the time, minute detailing and fine craftsmanship it takes to achieve this level of perfection?  Jaeger LeCoultre booth also did not fail to impress me with their Hand Enamelling and Engraving booths. Dials are truly the new medium for innovation and creation. 

IWC introduced a Grid-Dial in their latest Ingenieur Automatic 40mm Timepiece. The dial features a distinctive “Grid” structure, consisting of small lines offset by 90 degrees to each other; it is stamped into the soft iron blank before it is galvanised. 

4) Another big trend is that of Titanium Watches –  This year at Watches and Wonders, Titanium was definitely on the menu. From Rolex, Oris, Grand Seiko, Chopard, Ulysse Nardin, Hublot, Zenith and so on, each brand had its unique offering in Titanium. Rolex’s Yacht-Master was particularly notable. It’s the second-ever all-titanium watch from the brand, after last fall’s debut of the Deepsea Challenge. We all know Customer has always  indeed been the King and I saw that more and more brands are indeed using Titanium,maybe because of its light weight which offers  comfort to the customer. Almost every brand that I went to, had an offering in Titanium. 

Grand Seiko introduced its very first mechanical chronograph movement at the show, the 6,000 beats per hour 9SC5 Tentagraph in titanium, a metal that the high-end brand has long used, including in its flagship Snowflake watch. I had the opportunity to try this piece and I must say, I instantly fell in love with it! 

Hermes launched the Hermès H08 Chronograph that features a satin-finished and polished titanium bezel atop a textured case middle.

The next  trend that I would like to talk about is that Watches are getting smaller in size. Yes you heard it right, smaller is what I say. Literally I would say 39mm is the size to go for. For listeners who are new to watch passion I am referring to the width of the watch. At the fair, a lot of brands showcased novelties, they were calling “medium-sized” or small. The Cartier Baignoire Mini Bangle, Vacheron Constantin’s Overseas Self-Winding 34mm, Zenith’s Pilot Automatic, The Panthère de Cartier all proved the same! 

Bell & Ross has dropped its standard case size from 42mm to 41mm. Panerai wanted to focus on its Quaranta watches, which are 40mm instead of its standard bigger dial sizes. Is this a step towards inclusivity ? Or are brands inching closer to a genderless World of timepieces?

Mr. Nicholas Andreatta, CEO, Manufacture Roger Dubuis indeed made a very striking statement, when he said why do we have to segment the timepieces into gender buckets? Instead have timepieces of different sizes and lend the choice to the clients. Why can’t Men wear a beautiful timepiece with a pink strap adorned with diamonds and why can’t a woman wear a 47mm double tourbillon? Indeed food for thought!

Moving on, Interchangeable straps continued to rule the reign this year as well. It looks like customers today want to maximize their purchase with changing the look of their timepiece with an interchangeable strap. The younger customer is definitely looking at versatile options and gaining more from the buck spent. And why not !! This also is a step towards sustainability like having one watch serving multiple styles and purpose helping us to protect the environment. In-fact each booth that I walked to, atleast had one timepiece that had an Interchangeable strap option. Be it Montblanc’s  1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date watch  or Piaget’s new Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin watch or even  Zenith’s Defy Skyline Skeleton in Ceramic and so on. 

Another observation is that brands are all making efforts towards sustainability which is no longer a trend but a necessity. Sustainability is big and is here to stay. Brands are recognising the same and taking serious measures in contributing towards sustainability.  I would like to make a special mention here about  Chopard’s commitment towards sustainability.

Its existing Lucent steel, used for the  Alpine Eagle sports watch, is already made of 70 per cent recycled steel. By the end of 2023, all Chopard steel watches, including bracelets and cases, will include 80% recycled steel. This proportion will be raised to a minimum of 90% by 2025. Many brands are laying importance to traceability and origins of materials like sourcing ethical gold and diamonds. Mr. Guido Terreni from Parmagani mentioned that they only use energy that 9 households would consume in a year at their atelier. Impressive right? 

I’m totally crushing on the Titanium trend and definitely eyeing on a few novelties that I have added to my wishlist.  Whether I end up buying or No that’s a secret. Watches & Wonders 2023 did really manage to come back bigger, better, stronger and crazier! That was all about trends from my end. Hope you enjoyed reading the same.

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