With Cartier having such a strong 2022, I confess I was worried the Maison could not keep up their incredible momentum. While there was not necessarily a horological mega-flex like the Masse Mysterieuse, Cartier once again delivered a strong year of novelties – continuing to showcase their mastery of shapes and mastery of watchmaking inside and out. Here are five of the best Cartier watches of 2023.Cartier Prive Tank NormaleThe seventh entry into the rare Prive collection, succeeding the Crash, Tank Cintree, Tonneau, the Tank Asymetrique, Cloche, and Tank Chinoise, the return of the original 1917 Tank design from Louis Cartier does not seem like a major development to the uninitiated. In fact, out of its context, it can seem like a rather boring novelty. But with vintage Cartier gaining more and more traction on the auction block, to have the OG Tank design represented to the world in a manner that has one foot fully in the past with its faithful proportions – and another foot in the modern era with a bevelled sapphire crystal and modern manually-wound calibre – was a big deal for purists and brand VIPs.The yellow gold configuration is explicitly clear-cut luxury, it looks very expensive and elegant from a mile away. But the platinum model is, in my opinion, the ultimate stealth-wealth flex – and one I was really drawn to. I would have loved to take the platinum Normale home with me after Watches & Wonders 2023, particularly on the matching bracelet. The only thing that could have made this release even better would be a set of blued Breguet hands.BrandCartierModelPrive Tank NormaleCase Dimensions25.7mm (D) x 32.6 (LTL)Case Material18K yellow gold or platinum 950Water Resistance30mDialWhite with blued handsCrystalSapphire crystalBracelet/StrapNormale: Leather strap with ardillon buckle or case-matching braceletMovementNormale: Manually wound calibre 070Power Reserve38 hoursFunctionsHours, minutesAvailabilityLimited editions: 200 pieces on strap, 100 pieces on braceletPriceUpon requestCartier Santos de Cartier Green DialThis year, the Santos de Cartier collection expanded its colour range with a new smoked green dial. Previously limited to white, black, and blue (and the blue was only available in the large size), Cartier introduced the green dial in both medium and larger sizes – and the blue finally arrived in the medium size as well. Is a new dial colour really such a revelation? Perhaps not. But, the Santos de Cartier framework is an incredibly strong luxury-daily wear framework.With its upgraded 100m water-resistant case and interchangeable bracelet (and even link) system, there is little anyone would ask Cartier to change about this range. Yes, the bezel is known to be a bit of a scratch-magnet. But this is the concession of polished metal, and I cannot imagine this watch without this element. The new dial colour expanded a go-to range for those approaching Cartier watches, and I hope Cartier continues to expand the colour palette further. Smoked red for 2024? That would be an absolute banger.BrandCartierModelSantos de CartierCase Dimensions39.8mm x 47.5mm (Large) / 35.1mm x 41.9mm (Medium)Case MaterialStainless steelWater Resistance100mCrystal(s)SapphireDialSmoky GreenStrapSteel braceletMovementCalibre 1847 MCPower Reserve42 hoursAvailabilityAvailable nowPrice6,350 (medium), 6,950 (large)Cartier Santos Dumont Skeleton Micro-Rotor Limited EditionAfter the watch community was smitten with the three lacquered-case editions of the Santos Dumont watches from 2022, I, like many others, was particularly drawn to the beige-lacquered pink gold limited edition. Cartier, however, would step things up a notch with a new Santos Dumont Skeleton Micro-Rotor trio in 2023. ?The watches are a technical and aesthetic tribute to Alberto Santos-Dumont, and use their newly developed 9629 MC automatic skeleton calibre with a micro-rotor in the shape of a replica of the Demoiselle, Santos-Dumont’s pioneering?ultralight aircraft.All of the watches have lacquered channels on their openworked bridges – with stainless steel, rose gold, and yellow gold versions – but the sole limited edition model of the three stood out the most with its yellow gold case covered in navy lacquer on the front. This model felt like a continuation of the lacquered trio from 2022, having the same exhibition of external mastery while also flexing Cartier’s movement development.BrandCartierModelSantos Dumont Skeleton Micro-RotorCase Dimensions31mm (D) x 8mm (T) x 43.5mm (LTL)Case MaterialStainless steel, rose gold, or navy-lacquered yellow goldWater Resistance30mDialSkeleton, with case-tone matching and lacquered bridgesCrystalSapphire crystal and casebackBracelet/StrapAlligator-skin leather strap with case matching ardillon buckleStainless steel: Grey and blue leather strapsRose gold: Burgundy and brown leather strapsYellow gold: Blue and dark blue leather strapsMovementCartier automatic skeleton 9629 MCPower Reserve44 hoursFunctionsHours, minutesAvailabilityAvailable now for inquiries; navy-lacquered yellow gold model limited to 150 pcs.Price27,900 (steel); 36,400 (rose gold); 37,500 (yellow gold)Cartier Tank Louis Cartier Mosaic CollectionA homage to the Tank Must de Cartier dials of the '70s, Cartier presented two distinct mosaic patterns that offered quite striking and groovy aesthetics, which have a sort of glamorous disco flair. The yellow gold model above (right) utilizes a squared-tiling pattern for its mosaic motif, with white gold, yellow gold, and rose gold, in that order, sort of exploding into one another and creating a gradient of sorts evenly. The rose gold model (left), has a brick-layered look that heavily emphasises the yellow and rose gold hues with accents of white gold.I strongly believe that the Must de Cartier era, while a seemingly failed experiment at the time, should continue to be revived – or refreshed rather. Perhaps not 1:1 recreations, but with people now favouring some of these vintage designs I think it would be wise to continue to leverage their foundations into new designs for the current market.BrandCartierModelTank Louis CartierCase Dimensions25.5mm (D) x 6.6mm (T) x 33.7mm (LTL)Case MaterialYellow gold, rose goldWater Resistance30mDialTri-gold finished mosaicCrystalSapphire crystalBracelet/StrapLeather strap with ardillon buckleMovementManually wound calibre 1917 MCPower Reserve38 hoursFunctionsHours, minutesAvailabilityAvailable nowPriceUS$14,400Cartier Clash BaignoireA design introduced in 1912, the Cartier Baignoire seemed to have a strong resurgence this year, with current influencers and famous figures like Emma Chamberlain and Kylie Jenner all routinely sporting variations of the watch on their wrists. Known as ‘the bathtub watch’, its oval shape again indicates Cartier’s centuries-old tradition of playing with geometries, and this year Cartier decided to double down on the oval form with an oval watch on an oval bracelet: the 2023 Cartier Clash Baignoire.Jewellery watches may send shivers down some male watch snob’s spines, but this new Baignoire resulted in a rare phenomenon for a ‘ladies watch’. According to The New York Times in an article from September 2023, the watch – which was unveiled at the end of March 2023 and hit stores in June 2023 – immediately had waitlists and was out of stock by mid-August, with the model set to have its stock replenished in November 2023. This sort of inaccessibility at retail is typically associated with ‘men’s’ hype pieces like the Daytona, Royal Oak, and Nautilus. So the facts and figures do not lie: the new Baignoire is a certified ‘it-watch’ of 2023.BrandCartierModelClash BaignoireCase Dimensions24.6mm (D) x 18.7mm (W) x 7.2mm (T)Case MaterialYellow gold, rose goldWater Resistance30mDialWhite with blued handsCrystalSapphire crystalBracelet/StrapGold bangleMovementCartier High-Efficiency QuartzPower Reserve8 yearsFunctionsHours, minutesAvailabilityAvailable nowPriceUS$11,800
28.12.23