Cartier d’Art Turtle Pattern Watch

 For people who are in love with art-style watches, the moment they put on the watch, time seems to be no longer the protagonist. Only the beautiful craftsmanship is crucial. Through the dexterity of the craftsmen working for Cartier, The hands are created like beautiful and moving poems.

When it comes to Cartier, what we have to say is naturally the dreamlike animal patterns used on many of the watches it produces. This year, the six new models of Cartier's Cartier d'Art series of high-end watches once again bring the wildness of animals to life. The combination of charm and superb watchmaking technology reflects Cartier's courage and determination to break through tradition and transcend the boundaries of time. At the same time, Cartier has also integrated noble and elegant traditional arts and crafts into the contemporary world - hollow carvings, gold-rimmed enamel, gem-inlaid mosaic patterns, overlapping layers of enamel, and precious wood inlays. These are rare and have even become The forgotten technical craftsmanship is once again revealed to the world through the efforts of Cartier.

Among these six works, the watch with a mosaic turtle pattern on the dial is probably the most exquisite piece that demonstrates the exquisite skills and unique ingenuity of the master watchmaker. It has allowed mosaics to be passed down for thousands of years and was originally only used on walls. The ancient skills in large-scale decoration such as surfaces, murals, ceilings and floors have been miniaturized, allowing it to transcend the scope of expression and be applied to watchmaking craftsmanship.

It is not an easy task to set a total of 1167 gems on the dial of the watch. The gem squares must be set one by one in a predetermined order. First, black gemstones are used to outline the outline of each tortoise shell and tortoise feet, and then gemstones of other colors are inlaid layer by layer to make the color levels richer and the shape more prominent. All gemstones are first pasted on the dial and then reinforced uniformly to ensure a uniform and smooth pattern surface. The gem setting process alone takes more than 60 working hours. It is this extremely precise and delicate processing technique and meticulous creative attitude that makes the turtles composed of gems on the dial come to life and have unique charm. This has led to the birth of a classic.

Cartier turtle pattern decorates the dial with exquisite craftsmanship:

1. Before making a dial, gem setting technicians must first select gemstones. They choose a wide variety of gemstones, including onyx, tiger eye, eagle eye, yellow peterite, carnelian, yellow jasper, palm jasper, and Kalahari. Jasper, yellow agate, moss agate, coral and mother-of-pearl, etc., the ever-changing color of gemstones can make the turtle pattern more dynamic. The technician then polished and cut the selected warm-toned gemstones into small squares with a side length of 0.75 mm and a thickness of 0.4 mm.

2. Cartier watchmaking masters who are good at using colors skillfully combine gemstones to form beautiful patterns.

3. Black onyx outlines the prototype of a tortoise shell, and 1167 small gemstone squares are embedded on it to highlight the details. The combination of various gemstones creates a colorful picture.