Is it reptilian or mammalian? Well, if the question pertains to Cartier’s haute joaillerie timepieces for the year, then it’s most probably both. Throughout its 177-year history, the Maison has dreamt up a bestiary worthy of Noah’s Ark with delicately winged butterflies taking up as much space in the spotlight as fantastically maned lions. As much as it is beloved (and highly sought after), Cartier is not just about its lithe, majestic panther—though there is enough of that in this collection to keep fans happy. Instead, what we have are fantastical creations, some figurative and others abstract, that meld familiarity with surrealism. 

The Animal Jewellery watch, for example, sees the strong tail of a crocodile given a fresh point of view with black lacquer stripes running along its length; and reverse-set gems reinforcing its textured surface. In the Tiger Jewellery bracelet watch, the feline grips the watch case with its powerful jaws, allowing Cartier to cleverly design its closure as a focal point of the design. “It’s a bold step for us in terms of creativity,” says creative director Marie-Laure Cérède. “We wanted to create a chimera; to reinvent and mix the animals up. At one point, I looked at [an animal design] and said ‘we’ve seen this like 1,000 times already’. So we tried to think about what could be new; to be free from the archives and to start from scratch.” That sounds like an exciting place to start—and the results show. Cartier’s 2024 timetelling creations balance volume, proportion, colours and textures flawlessly. Playing zoologist for the day, Cérède walks us through the collection.

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The Animal Jewellery watches are intriguing for their mix of animalistic elements. Can you tell us more about them? 

I love this one in terms of creativity; it’s a bold step for us. Instead of being inspired by our animals, I was thinking that we needed to be inspired by our “inspiration”. So, instead of sculpting an animal, we sculpted the shape and the different animal patterns, and this was how we proceeded. And as you can see, it’s a sculpted shape where everything comes together: You don’t know if it is a zebra, a tiger, even a crocodile. It’s an imagery of a new creature for Cartier, and that’s very interesting to us. What is also interesting is that with just a change of gold and coloured gems, you are able to see different animals with the same design.

Yes, and crocodiles factor into the equation quite a bit here, too. 

It’s interesting that people and journalists are so aware of our crocodiles. I realised that it’s because we have never had so many crocodiles in watchmaking before; in jewellery, yes, but not watchmaking. It was not an easy challenge because crocodiles are very long. I think we doubled the time spent on developing our crocodile watches as compared to our panthers.

Crocodile Jewellery Métiers d’art Enamel watch in rhodium-finish white gold with sapphires, emeralds and diamonds, CARTIER.

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I hadn’t thought about how its length would pose a problem. It’s obviously very different from the Reflection watch, which is also all about proportions.

You know, this is the third path that Cartier has been taking for some years now: The Reflection blurs the frontiers between jewellery and watchmaking and combines two of our expertise. The idea behind the watch at the beginning was the Toi et Moi ring. But I wanted to have something in three dimensions. Watches are always flat, but we can add volume in jewellery; not a concept that is used in watchmaking. So we have a bangle in three dimensions with a watch inside.

I love how you tell the time from the mirrored surface opposite the watch.

Yes, because of the inclination [of that mirrored surface], it’s very readable. The mirroring is why it’s called Reflection—which also echoes the concept of the Cartier Santos Dumont Rewind [which tells the time backwards]. This is very important because I always say we need to do something meaningful. If not, there is no point, you know?

Looking at the breadth of watch designs that Cartier has put forth for the year, what are you most proud of?

It isn’t about a watch because this is part of the job that we do. I would say I am most proud of having a very talented and happy team that likes working together; this is one of the most beautiful achievements. You cannot create if you’re not in good health or if you don’t feel good; you cannot create something interesting that way. It’s a human story, and it’s a story about teamwork.

All photos courtesy of Cartier.