Cartier is a maison that has always been held to a higher aesthetic standard. It isn’t enough for a Cartier timepiece to be accurate or reliable. It must also be sculptural, referential, and poetic. It must feel like an object of beauty and art. It must be exhibited at the Louvre a hundred years from now. Seriously. This year’s standout men’s release from Cartier, the new Tank à Guichets from the Privé collection, is just that. It is a modern resurrection of a piece originally launched in 1928, and arrives with the kind of quiet confidence that only Cartier can pull off. A mechanical watch with no hands. No numerals on display. No dial in the traditional sense. Just two apertures: one displays the jumping hours; the other, the dragging minutes. The apertures are set into a brushed metal face that feels more like a piece of architecture than a..
