Sun, moon, stars, Cartier
Forget the procession of hours and minutes, and look instead to the moon’s phases or the endless succession of day and night, with two precious complications that are the stuff of dreams.
There was a time when the moon, the sun and the stars were the markers of our days and nights. A distant era when the position of the heavenly bodies took precedence over every other indication of passing time. Cartier puts this principle back at the centre of the dial with the Rotonde Day and Night watch with retrograde moon phases. Sun and moon take turns to measure the hours’ forward march by means of a supremely elegant disc that occupies the upper part of the dial. A bold sun, surrounded by clouds, travels through the day, from six in the morning until six in the evening, when dusk falls and the moon takes over… And so it continues as day alternates with night. The bottom part of the dial is reserved for a retrograde moon phase that puts refinement on a par with originality. Each phase of the moon, which has been delicately set with diamonds and blue sapphires, is beautifully depicted against a lacquered backdrop, scattered with gold paillons. Cartier frames this celestial ballet with a row of 68 diamonds that circle the white gold Rotonde case. Behind the scenes, a complex and reliable automatic mechanical manufacture movement, Calibre 9912 MC, works quietly, leaving the spotlight to the enchantment and poetry played out on the dial.
