Own A Piece Of History

While highly complicated and limited-edition watches are indeed valuable, what is equally priceless are pieces nearly lost to the past. The recently launched Cartier Vintage collection revives some of the brand’s most treasured creations – in all their original glory. Yanni Tan receives a quick history lesson from a preview at Cartier ION Orchard’s private salon.

- Yanni Tan

It had only been days since Cartier launched its Vintage collection in Singapore, and all eight available pieces were already snapped up at private client presentations – even before the public got to see them. The new owners of the watches cannot be more lucky, for our city is the third and last market in the world selected for the honour of retailing this exclusive collection so far.

Cartier Vintage is such a small collection that only a total of over 20 watches have been offered since it launched in London in 2019, and in Paris last December. Conceived by a small group of experts from the maison’s Image, Style and Patrimony department, and led by none other than its influential director Pierre Rainero, it is a permanent programme that showcases the brand’s watch making heritage through the rigorous sourcing, authentication and restoration of its most important and symbolic old timepieces.

It is similar to the Cartier Tradition programme, which also involves the purchase of iconic jewels and timepieces back from customers for restoration and resale to new clients, but Cartier Vintage currently focuses only on mechanical watches made from the early 1970s to early 2010s.

NEVER A BETTER TIME

For horology connoisseurs and fans of the brand, this is indeed a most timely and welcome move – for the esteem of Cartier watches have soared so dramatically in the past decade that they are now commanding top dollar in the auction and vintage sectors.