Talking Watches & Wonders With Arnaud Carrez, Cartier’s International Director of Marketing & Communications

At the end of Watches & Wonders, Haute Time talked with Arnaud Carrez, Cartier’s International Director of Marketing & Communications, regarding what it is like to have a major watch fair going digital, and how the latest Cartier models came about.

Haute Time: Geneva has gone digital in this year of ongoing pandemic: what are your views on this as International Director of Marketing & Communications?

Arnaud Carrez: For a second consecutive year, the context has called for a digital fair. Regardless of the format, Watches and Wonders is still a unique occasion for the Maison to share our watchmaking creations, while participating in the dynamism and evolution of the watch industry. Even though digital events do not stand in for physical presentations, they help us preserve the connections with our clients and engage with them s in a different manner. This is why we have decided to pursue Cartier Watchmaking Encounters, the digital platform we launched last year to showcase our new watchmaking collections and to enable visitors to deep dive into Cartier’s mastery of shapes.

Beyond Watches & Wonders, we see a huge potential in all kind of digital activities and since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, we have accelerated our move into digital spaces with a more integrated approach relying on digital touchpoints.

How important is a solid collection at the price point of the new Must-collection?

Over the years, we have reinterpreted some of our most emblematic watch collections, such as Panthère, Santos, Baignoire and Pasha, while bringing relevancy and suiting our clients’ expectations and tastes. This year, we felt it was the right time to create a modern Tank Must and offer one of the most recognizable designs of the Maison at an accessible price point and good value proposition for our clients.

In the past, the Must-collection also included other shaped watches, as well as accessories. Is this also the plan with the new collection over time?

When launching Les Must de Cartier in the 1970s, Cartier extended its offer beyond jewelry to watches, fragrances and accessories such as leather goods and writing instruments that were affordable, yet still highly recognizable and desirable. While we do not plan to develop a whole Les Must collection like we did in the 1970s, the name Les Must remains an important part of our legacy, that we keep on carrying with dedicated creations, such as our current collection of Must leather goods and the Tank Must watch, presented at this year’s edition of Watches and Wonders.

You also focused on the Cloche this year, why did you select this historic model to bring back in the collection?

Since 2017, Cartier’s patrimony has been enriched with the Cartier Privé collection, presenting reinterpretations of mythical shaped pieces and signed complications. After the Crash, the Tank Cintrée, the Tonneau, and the Tank Asymétrique, Cartier Privé pays tribute to another legendary shape: the Cloche watch. Revealed in 1920, the Cloche was a visionary’s watch, challenging the tradition of round pocket watches. It is one of the rarest aesthetics and was made at the beginning only on request. It truly is a real collector’s piece that we felt was timely for this edition, and we are thrilled to present it this year.

With the new Must Tank, you also introduce the SolarBeat movement. What makes this movement so special, and why and how did you develop it?

For the very first time, we are introducing an original version of the Tank Watch with a non- leather strap and a photovoltaic movement, utterly pioneer, called SolarBeat. It took us 4 years to develop this innovative movement with the help of Richemont Innovation and the Manufacture Horlogère de Val Fleurier.

The SolarBeat movement, which consists in hiding photovoltaic cells that convert light into power, under invisible perforations in the Roman numerals of the watch face, should last at least 16 years, without maintenance. With this solar energy powered watch, we intend to further reduce the Maison’s environmental footprint over its entire life cycle, as part of our journey towards a durable positive impact through all our activities.

This year Cartier is working a lot with color on the dials within the mainstream collection, is this something we are going to see more in the future as well?

By launching the Tank in 5 new colored dial versions and limited editions, we wanted to pay tribute to the monochrome Les Must de Cartier watches from the 1980s. We also wanted to highlight the iconic shape of the Tank with a touch of color that is highly recognizable and truly appealing. It is too soon to speak about future collections, yet I can tell you that we have received amazingly positive feedback from our clients and partners about these editions.

 

Which is your personal favorite watch from the new collection this year, and why?

It is very difficult to highlight one piece as each collection asserts our singularity in the world of watchmaking. One of this year’s highlight is, for me, the Tank Must in its new version. I am very proud about the way our creative teams have reworked the Tank Must, staying true to the origin of the watch, with recognizable codes, and new tangible features that make it even more contemporary. On the other hand, we have also enriched the Pasha de Cartier collection, which was well received last year, with a chronograph version and a new 30mm size. Last but not least, I am very fond of the Cloche, which has joined this year’s Cartier Privé collection.