The carefully curated selection will thrill Cartier collectors.

The much buzzed-about Cartier Vintage collection of rare, pre-owned timepieces, previously available in Cartier’s Paris and London flagship boutiques, have made its way to the Maison’s Singapore ION Orchard boutique. It is the first place in Asia to offer the exclusive watches.

Louis Cartier Square Incurvée in yellow gold with hand-wound movement from 1976

There are currently six timepieces in the assortment, each meticulously selected to showcase Cartier’s indelible expertise in creating iconic case shapes – a thematic thread that runs through the Cartier Vintage offerings. The watches include a curved rectangular Louis Cartier Square Incurvée in yellow gold (1976); Atelier de Paris (MCHP) Tonneau in yellow gold (1985); Pasha de Cartier Golf in 38mm yellow gold (1993); Collection Privée Cartier Paris (CPCP) Tank à Vis Dual Time Zone in yellow gold (2002); CPCP Tortue Minute Repeater in yellow gold (2003); and Tonneau Dual Time Zone in pink gold (2005).

Atelier de Paris MCHP Tonneau in yellow gold with hand-wound movement from 1985

Evidently, despite its suffix, the watches in the Cartier Vintage selection do not belong strictly to the vintage category. The timepieces in the collection span the 1970s to the 2010s, and are grouped into four categories. The Collection Louis Cartier, solid gold watches from the 1980s and 1990s that saw the emergence of Cartier’s trademark case shapes like the Tank and Tonneau; the Atelier de Paris MCHP (Manufacture Cartier Horlogerie Paris) range of watches produced at Cartier’s Paris workshop from the 1980s to early 2000s; the Collection Privée Cartier Paris (CPCP) watches with precious metals and mechanical movements; and Pasha High Complication of technically complex Pasha watches that are made from individual gold ingots and in numbered limited editions.

Collection Privée Cartier Paris Tank à Vis Dual Time Zone in yellow gold with hand-wound movement from 2002

Curated by Cartier’s Image, Style and Patrimony department, the watches Cartier Vintage watches come with eight-year warranty through the Cartier Care service, with each bearing its own certificate of authenticity that details the composition of the watch and types of restoration work done.

Collection Privée Cartier Paris Tortue Minute Repeater in yellow gold with hand-wound movement from 2003

Given that each Cartier Vintage offering is billed as rare and exceptional, the questions of how the Maison determines the price and provenance is utmost on collectors’ minds. Pierre Rainero, Cartier International’s image, style and heritage director explains that Cartier considers a number of factors before putting on the price tags. They include the prices of current models in the said line-up, the prices that the Maison has acquired the timepieces for, the rarity of each piece, as well as the amount of restoration work needed.

Collection Privée Cartier Paris Tonneau Dual Time Zone in pink gold with hand-wound movement from 2005

“Of course, this also determines the choices we make when acquiring which models to buy,” he adds. "They should be able to be restored and presented in a right state. The number of watches in this offering is small. We have a lot of conditions to fulfil in the selection of these timepieces."

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