19th Anniversary

19th Anniversary 98 www.afamag.com | w ww.incollect.com Fig. 9: Cartier interchangeable double clip & brooch designed in platinum with yellow diamond, circa 1940-50s. Made at the London Workshop. Approximately 14 carat yellow diamonds. Ye Olde Timekeepers, Inc., New York. Helm. Eventually this reference would become one of Cartier’s most popular mass-produced round case designed wristwatches when it was offered in the 1950s. Cartier in the 1950s: Concealed Bracelet Watches Similar to the shift in societal attitudes and styles towards masculinity that had given birth to the concept of the Tank and the Helm, a new sense of women’s empowerment was now also being recognized by the firm and the concept of the concealed bracelet watch was born; this was a time when it was considered rude to check the time in the company of others. Now, instead of obstacles resulting from the enameling process or stone setting, Cartier had his newest challenge: How do you insert a watch movement into a bracelet? To answer that question, the firm initiated new business relationships with timepiece workshops that could supply Cartier with timepiece movements their bracelet designs needed (Fig. 8). Depending on the design and region of the world, watch mechanisms were commissioned from Swiss watch manufacturers worldwide. Jaeger LeCoultre, European Watch Company, Blancpain, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and Vacheron Constantin all supplied Cartier with watches. The demand for the concealed bracelet watch sparked