Privé, the exclusive and expensive name reserved for select resurrected Cartier watches, returns for its eighth edition in 2024 with a selection of Cartier Privé Tortue watches. One of the reasons I find Cartier as a brand attractive is the sheer number of virtually ancient collections it sustains to this day. The Tortue, this barrel-shaped, sporty-elegant watch is definitely one of those, as it dates back to 1912, and, like so many historic Cartier collections, it has aged like fine wine, too.
Beautifully photographed as they are, there is something extremely unnerving about the way Cartier chose to officially present these new Cartier Privé Tortue watches. All right on the verge of falling from a considerable height or being scratched by a beastly rock, maybe you’ll agree that it takes time and effort to be able to focus on the watches themselves, and not on their forthcoming doom. Still, eventually, essential bits of information emerge, specifically that the Privé Tortue comes in a dressy two-hander and a monopusher chronograph guise.
You won’t be surprised that Cariter has remained faithful to the original Tortue and reworked it with but a gentle touch. The lugs are longer, the profile is slimmer, and, for whatever reason in a petite dress watch, Cartier claims that it is now lighter, too. I don’t know about you, but I like my small solid gold dress watches heavy, thank you very much. The two-hand Cartier Privé Tortue is available in 18k yellow gold with a “finely grained golden” dial (mind you, golden does not equal gold) and a gold crown decorated with a sapphire cabochon. For the first time in a Cartier Privé watch, platinum is available not only in naked but also in gem-set form.
The two-hand Cartier Privé Tortue watches measure 41.4mm by 32.9mm — that’s 41.4mm lug-to-lug — and 7.2mm thick. Each is powered by the 430 MC hand-wound caliber, which is a Cartier-branded Piaget 430P movement that measures just 2.1mm thick, offers around 42 hours of power reserve, and operates at a slow-ish 3Hz frequency. There’s no word of a see-through caseback, but, frankly, these watches are deserving of a solid back in matching precious metal.
The gallery of unnerving, yet impressive images continues with the Cartier Privé Tortue Monopoussoir Chronograph which also comes in 18k yellow gold or platinum, although this time without a gem-set option. Sigh. Avid fans of Cartier will remember that this very watch, the Tortue Monopoussoir had already been introduced once some 20 years ago, with the same dial layout and monopusher functionality. It is true that this more modern version looks distinctly more filigree and refined, while the one from the early 2000s carries a lot more bulk in its bezel in particular. The resulting measurements are 43.7mm by 34.8mm and a slender 10.2mm thick.
Although none of the images show it, the Cartier Privé Tortue Monopoussoir Chronograph watches will have a see-through caseback to reveal the hand-wound caliber. The early 2000s version used the 045MC caliber, produced for Cartier by THA, Techniques Horlogères Appliquées, while 2024’s watches have what Cartier calls Calibre 1928 MC. Given that it has the same layout, same functionality, and has to fit the same case, we’d be surprised if it were anything but a rebranded version of the 045MC, but we’ll know more once we see these watches hands-on at Watches & Wonders Geneva 2024. Still, you can expect to see a hand-wound movement with the chronograph’s mechanisms laid out on the caseback side in all their glory.
The Cartier Privé Tortue watches are limited to 200 numbered pieces in 18k yellow gold and platinum, and just 50 pieces in gem-set form, while the Cartier Privé Tortue Monopoussoir Chronograph watches are limited to 200 numbered pieces in either 18k yellow gold or platinum. Pricing for the Cartier Privé Tortue in platinum with diamonds (Ref. WJTO0010) is $59,000 USD, in platinum (Ref. WGTO0008) is $35,600 USD, and in yellow gold (Ref. WGTO0006) is $31,000 USD. The Cartier Privé Tortue Monopoussoir is priced at $59,000 USD in platinum (Ref. WHTO0008) and $51,000 USD in yellow gold (Ref. WHTO0007). You can learn more at the brand’s website.
