Cartier took advantage of the last Watches & Wonders fair to start a new collection of watches considered as "small complications" ones. I have to confess that I don't like this naming because it contains a pejorative connotation while its aim is to create a clear difference with the "Grandes Complications" universe. The words of "affordable complications" would have been more appropriate even if the "Complications Utiles" (Useful Complications) ones used by a famous Manufacture from Geneve remain the best.
Affordable and useful, here are two adjectives which can be easily used to describe the first two watches of this collection: the Rotonde Calendar Aperture and Power Reserve and the Rotonde Large Date and Retrograde Second Timezone. Both are available in stainless steel, pink gold and white gold. They embody an important strategic orientation from Cartier which can be perceived on different levels:
- the increasing use of the Rotonde case, more elegant, thinner, already initiated during the last SIHH, means without any doubt a comeback to the natural roots of Cartier made of sobriety and refinement,
- the dials which include a drop of originaly and which successfully mix sections with and without guillochage are the proof of a quest for a balance between classicism and clear character,
- the reasonable prices of the stainless steel versions (less than 7.800 euros here in France for the Rotonde Large Date Retrograde Second Timezone and 7.000 euros for the other one) express the will from Cartier to be competitive in a market moving in a tricky economic context.
The Rotonde Large Date Retrograde Second Timezone is my fav watch between the two novelties. I appreciate first the main complication which belongs to the category of the most practical ones: the second timezone display. It is obviously not the first time that Cartier offers this complication including in the specific context of the Rotonde. But the interest of the watch can be found in the way this display was designed.
At first glance, it could be considered as a bit disturbing because it is organized in two clearly separated parts. The upper left segment tells the hours between 1 and 12 with a retrograde hand. The bottom right segment is dedicated to the classic day&night display. The advantage of such system is to reduce the size of the crescent-shaped scale followed by the retrograde hand and to make more legible the second timezone hour on a 12 hours basis. For exemple, on the Excenter Timezone of Harry Winston, the retrograde hand requires a large scale which occupies a big part of the dial because based on a 24 hours system.
The other asset of such display is that it nicely decorates the lay-out of the dial which appears to be less strict and formal. Completed by the presence of the large date on its top, the dial is at the same time full of life and surprising because the locations and the shapes of the parts of the second timezone display are to say the less unusual. And yet, the whole of the watch remains elegant and "stamped" by the Cartier style.
The latter expresses itself thanks to the apple-shaped blued steel hands, the typical radiating guillochage and the indispensable roman numerals. Of course, the crown belongs to these elements of style but its role is much more important than its usual one. The Rotonde Large Date Retrograde Second Timezone is in fact a very easy watch to operate. The first position of the crown is used to set the date. The second position to set the time. Nothing new at this point. But, the trick can be found in the way to set the second timezone hour: the crown can be used as a spusher which allows to set it. One push and the hand moves forward (and so the day&night disk) with one hour steps. Beyond this practical and useful side, this gathering of settings on the crown also has an esthetic virtue: there isn't any ungraceful pusher around the Rotonde case.
The movement which animates the Rotonde Large Date Retrograde Second Timezone is the caliber 1904-FU MC. This caliber gives another proof of its ability to power without any problem complications thanks to its optimized architecture and its two barrels which give a lot of thrust. The movement is visible thanks to a see-through caseback which allows to make us appreciate the rigor and the cleverness of its design. On the other hand, I would have preferred to see a nicer winding mass. I think that a more ambitious decoration style of this mass wouldn't have been superfluous. It is a pity that the perceiced quality is a bit set back when compared with the technical quality of the movement. In this context, the see-through caseback was not mandatory. But, as you know, the commercial constraints oblige its use.
The charm of the Rotonde case and its balanced proportions (a 42mm diameter with a 12mm thickness) can be felt once the watch is put on the wrist. However, the case gives very quickly the first role to the dial which specific lay-out attracts our eyes. Cartier successfully managed to find the right chemistry in order that the daring side of the dial doesn't alter its harmony. Moreover, the day&night display brings it poetic touch. The folding clasp as usual allows to accurately set the strap and so the watch is well positioned on the wrist. But the problem of this clasp remains: it "scars" a bit too much the leather stap due to the shape it needs to follow.
The Stainless Steel version of the Rotonde Large Date Retrograde Second Timezone doesn't have the same warmth than the Pink Gold version and it doesn't reflect the same attracting power than the White Gold version which is the most beautiful one thanks to its awesome blue dial. But, its very reasonable price and its horological contents strictly identical to the one of the gold versions give it a strong advantage: with more or less the third part of the price of the other versions, it allows to enter the universe of "small complications" without any compromise on the quality. It is a big asset if we consider the current environment in which the customers are more and more sensitive to the reality of the prices.
Thanks to the staff of the Cartier Capucines boutique for the perfect welcome.
Pros:
+ the elegance of the Rotonde case
+ the dial lay-out which is at the same time classic and original
+ the full settings with the crown making this watch very easy to use
+ the reliability of the 1904-FU MC movement
+ the price of the Stainless Steel version
Cons:
- the movement should have deserved a more appealing decoration
- the folding clasp "scars" too much the strap