Cartier Panthère large - gold/steel - 1990s

What Madonna, Marget Thatcher and Keith Richards share. 

Description

Cartier has always designed form watches. The daring (or crazy?) challenge of linking a very square case with rounded edges and slender links could only be taken up by the Maison. The challenge was largely won and has been declined in solid gold, gold and steel, steel, paved, large size, small size...

The steel and gold version is perhaps the most common version. However, its sleek and harmonious dial also features a date window at 5 o'clock, which is both bolder and rarer than the classic dial. Havinf a single line of gold on the bracelet is also rarer, and reinforces the nice symmetrie of the square case. 

 This design is so successful that it is perfectly unisex (like that of the Tank or Santos from the same Maison)! The large size presented here reinforces this feeling. This watch will have a presence on the wrist, whether it is feminine or masculine! This watch is so comfortable to wear that you almost forget it. It becomes a daily bracelet that goes just as well with yellow gold as white gold or even silver. 

How to wear it

Watches with integrated bracelets are and will always be sporty to the eye.

The strength of the Panthère lies in its sharp yet rounded lines that reduce the purely sporty impression. The fine and articulated bracelet also plays a role in making this Panthère ultimately elegant.

Françoise wears it very casually, as an everyday watch, and may prefer more dressy watches on leather straps for the evening. Although...

Why did Françoise choose it ?

If Françoise chose it, she's not alone! We have seen (and still see) it on the wrists of many actresses, musicians, and politicians. If a Cartier were needed for life, it might be towards a Panthère that Françoise would turn. The bracelet (whatever it may be : steel or gold) offers an unmatched guarantee of resistance and comfort.

History

The Panthère watch was launched in the festive spirit of the 1980s, when Michèle Kaouni was the director of creation at the Maison Cartier. It takes its name from the bracelet: both supple and streamlined, it evokes the way the feline moves, with all its roundness, elegance, and sensuality. At Cartier, the evocation of the panther through its coat is part of its identity. The spotted pattern first appeared on another ladies' wristwatch in 1914, in onyx and diamonds.

From its release, it was adopted by a large and eclectic crowd: Madonna, Keith Richards, Margaret Thatcher. Why not you?