Cartier’s Tank Chinoise Returns, More Musts, A Dazzling Coussin and Masse Mystérieuse

Cartier’s star continues to rise, and the maison’s new releases are among the real highlights of Watches and Wonders 2022, offering a compelling combination of surprise reissues, surefire line extensions and fresh new offerings. As always, Cartier delivers a complete repertoire. From fantastic, ’30s-inspired jewelry pieces like the flexible, reversible, geometric and entirely precious Cartier Libre pieces to shimmering new dials for the Panthère de Cartier and trio of stylish new Santos-Dumont models.

Let’s start with Cartier Privé, which, this year, is revisiting the aesthetically distinctive (yet still quintessentially Cartier) Tank Chinoise. Originally created in 1922, this model took for its inspiration a European understanding of Chinese decorative arts. In the case of the Chinoise, it was the architecture and geometry of Chinese temples and porticos that served as the inspiration for the strong lines of the watch. One hundred years after the model’s debut, we’re treated to two new interpretations of this elegant watch.