Is it a pendant, a watch, or a medallion? This object remains strangely undefinable, a creation that intrigues from the very first glance with its interplay of transparency and gem-settings.
Here is a pendant designed by an expert hand, out of which the form of a butterfly appears amid outstretched lines and rhythmical curves. The wings are comprised of sapphires, with rows of diamonds making up the body. Judging by its colours, it would seem to be a night butterfly. At the centre of the totally transparent dial is a mysterious double tourbillon, the emblem of Cartier’s watchmaking expertise: suspended in the void. The chain of geometrical motifs set with diamonds earns the medallion a place in the Cartier tradition of transformable jewellery: its chain is adorned with a perfectly detachable 25.93-carat oval sapphire, an extraordinary jewel from Sri Lanka.
This watch is unlike any other, as the art of the jeweller and the watchmaker converge towards a common aim. An object of incredible complexity, it embodies a form of pure jewellery in which all mechanical features remain invisible. The fully decorated watch movement is visible on the rear face via a sapphire back. The result can be counted in hours, or rather in months: almost 2,050 hours of work, the equivalent of 17 months of intense collaboration.
The Tourbillon Mystérieux Azuré pendant watch is a unique piece.