How Shape and Staying Power Propel Cartier’s Watchmaking
The house is receiving the WWD Honor for Watch Brand of the Year for turning its history and knack for striking designs into engines of desirability and growth.
Even by the standard of its long history, Cartier’s current run in watchmaking is one for the books.
At 179 years old, the Paris-based house is estimated by industry sources to be the world’s second-largest watch brand by sales.
Even more remarkably, Cartier has appeared more resilient than much of Swiss watchmaking through a pandemic-fueled boom and correction, against a backdrop of geopolitical and macroeconomic upheaval.
It has done so by solving the ultimate equation in heritage luxury: staying visible without losing its aura of elegance, commanding premiums for rare models at auction without becoming inaccessible, and tapping its archive while attracting a younger clientele.
It has done so by solving the ultimate equation in heritage luxury: staying visible without losing its aura of elegance, commanding premiums for rare models at auction without becoming inaccessible, and tapping its archive while attracting a younger clientele.
The brand has risen sharply on pop-culture radars, with conversations — and online searches — spiking after appearances on wrists such as those of Taylor Swift, Timothée Chalamet and John Legend as well as a raft of ambassadors, including Paul Mescal.
A Design-First Identity
Arnaud Carrez, Cartier’s chief marketing officer, told WWD the groundwork for this was asserting a difference on the global watch market.
“About a decade ago, we clarified the maison’s playing field in watchmaking…what [its] identity is and what that means for watchmaking,” he said. “That was when we established ‘watchmaker of shapes.’”
That moniker embodies the house ideal that “everything starts with the design, and technique should serve the design.” Movements, for example, are developed in light of the case that it will be fitted into, not the other way around.
Plus, the brand’s expansive archive is something to be leveraged, not left aside.
“We are not here to disrupt. We are more about evolution and continuity,” Carrez continued. “Authenticity, sincerity, consistency and continuity” are key words for the house, he added.
Speaking at a roundtable with journalists at this year’s Watches and Wonders fair in Geneva, chief executive officer Louis Ferla insisted that “everything that is being done is within the DNA of the maison; everything that is presented is true to Cartier history and heritage.”
It built a perception of Cartier creations as “iconic models or future icons,” the CEO added. In a volatile market environment, “clients tend to be reassured by iconic models.”
Case in point: the Crash Squelette timepiece, part of the Cartier Privé Les Opus lineup revealed at the fair to mark the 10th anniversary of its high-horology annual collection.
One of the most talked about pieces at the fair, its challenge included reshaping the manual-winding caliber 1967 MC to fit the elongated “melting” asymmetric outline and moving its crown to the 4 o’clock position, in the dip of the shape for an even more off-kilter and complex result.
Likewise, the Tank, Baignoire and other readily recognizable families continue to be revisited with changes in proportions, materials and movements. Within the Santos collection, for example, Ferla pointed to different expressions, from a sporty chronograph to a more classic metal-bracelet watch.
Working a range also gives Cartier more than one route to a customer. “We’ve ensured over the last years to have more transversal and more vertical offers on the core collections,” said Carrez.
References have been streamlined and the company has been “very careful about having reasonable prices across the board,” he noted. “We still have many references below the 5,000-euro threshold, and that’s part of Cartier’s DNA.”
Continuity and Range
That range has helped Cartier maintain momentum as the watch market see-sawed and settled after the post-pandemic surge.
In a report published in February, Vontobel estimated that Cartier held about 16 percent of the Swiss watch segment above 500 Swiss francs in 2025, noting that it was the fastest-growing brand in value in that segment and one of only two in the top 10 to increase volumes.
“About a decade ago, we clarified the maison’s playing field in watchmaking…what [its] identity is and what that means for watchmaking,” he said. “That was when we established ‘watchmaker of shapes.’”
That moniker embodies the house ideal that “everything starts with the design, and technique should serve the design.” Movements, for example, are developed in light of the case that it will be fitted into, not the other way around.
Plus, the brand’s expansive archive is something to be leveraged, not left aside.
“We are not here to disrupt. We are more about evolution and continuity,” Carrez continued. “Authenticity, sincerity, consistency and continuity” are key words for the house, he added.
Speaking at a roundtable with journalists at this year’s Watches and Wonders fair in Geneva, chief executive officer Louis Ferla insisted that “everything that is being done is within the DNA of the maison; everything that is presented is true to Cartier history and heritage.”
It built a perception of Cartier creations as “iconic models or future icons,” the CEO added. In a volatile market environment, “clients tend to be reassured by iconic models.”
Case in point: the Crash Squelette timepiece, part of the Cartier Privé Les Opus lineup revealed at the fair to mark the 10th anniversary of its high-horology annual collection.
One of the most talked about pieces at the fair, its challenge included reshaping the manual-winding caliber 1967 MC to fit the elongated “melting” asymmetric outline and moving its crown to the 4 o’clock position, in the dip of the shape for an even more off-kilter and complex result.
Likewise, the Tank, Baignoire and other readily recognizable families continue to be revisited with changes in proportions, materials and movements. Within the Santos collection, for example, Ferla pointed to different expressions, from a sporty chronograph to a more classic metal-bracelet watch.
Working a range also gives Cartier more than one route to a customer. “We’ve ensured over the last years to have more transversal and more vertical offers on the core collections,” said Carrez.
References have been streamlined and the company has been “very careful about having reasonable prices across the board,” he noted. “We still have many references below the 5,000-euro threshold, and that’s part of Cartier’s DNA.”
Continuity and Range
That range has helped Cartier maintain momentum as the watch market see-sawed and settled after the post-pandemic surge.
In a report published in February, Vontobel estimated that Cartier held about 16 percent of the Swiss watch segment above 500 Swiss francs in 2025, noting that it was the fastest-growing brand in value in that segment and one of only two in the top 10 to increase volumes.