Double Duty

Timepieces that serve a dual purpose of function and ornamentation define this fetching roundup of horological delights

- Tan Siok Hoon

FELINE POWER

The Panthère de Cartier — Cartier’s defining icon from its women’s universe — gets a revamp this year that looks to be one of its most enthralling. Built upon a legacy of radiant design, the manchette watch and mini watch are the current stars that celebrate the same hedonistic and ultra-feminine spirit that Cartier champions wholeheartedly through jewellery.

Audacious to a fault, the statement-making manchette is anchored by the supple and flowing bracelet of the Panthère de Cartier, now widened multiple times over, yet does not lose an iota of the grace and charm of its original model. The dial sits off-centre on a partially open-worked chain bracelet, thereby giving the classic timepiece a stamp of unapologetic modernity.

For its counterpart, the proportions have been subverted from the original as a stylistic exercise. Transformed and catapulted into new levels of elegance, the super refined and classy Panthère de Cartier mini watch is offered in a variety of bracelets.

Together, the Panthère de Cartier manchette and mini are Cartier’s latest attestation of a bold and free-spirited sense of luxury where the worlds of watchmaking and jewellery design collide and commingle with sublime abandon.

LADY LUCK