
Pocket Watches · Pocket watch
Platinum Cartier ultra-thin open faced pocketwatch, 1923
- Maker / attribution
- Cartier (maker)
- Date
- 1923
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- France
- Object type
- Pocket watch
- Materials / technique
- platinum
- Dimensions
- Case 45 mm
- Stock no.
- G3562
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Somlo Antiques (G3562)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Platinum Cartier ultra-thin open faced pocketwatch. Made 1923 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Somlo Antiques (dealer), London (stock number G3562), this is a pocket watch by Cartier, made in France, dated 1923. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: platinum. Recorded dimensions: Case 45 mm. The record is illustrated with 2 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Somlo Antiques
Cartier is a brand that has forever been associated with Opulence, class and sophistication. The company was founded by Louis-François Cartier in 1847 as an ‘ Atelier de Haute Joaillerie ’ after he took over the workshop of his Master, Adolphe Picard. He was succeeded in 1874 by his own son Alfred who continued to uphold the high standards set down by his father. It was not until 25 years later, in 1899 when Alfred’s three sons took over the business and transformed Cartier into a global luxury brand, opening boutiques in London and New York. Cartier’s dalliance with horology started in 1904 when Louis Cartier befriended the aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont. Santos-Dumont complained about the difficulties of checking a pocket watch mid-flight, so Louis Cartier designed a wristwatch with a distinctive flat profile that would henceforth be known as the Cartier Santos-Dumont. This was the first men’s wristwatch made by Cartier and established the foundation of every watch they have produced to this day. It is considered by many to be the pioneer of modern wristwatch design. Today vintage Cartier collectors have the choice of different designs and models from London, Paris and New York houses Brand: Cartier Made: 1923 Model: Pocket watch Reference: 16''' Calibre: EWC Movement: Manual Material: Platinum Features/complications: Ultra-thin Case Dial: Silvered dial featuring black printed outer minute track with Roman numeral hour indices and blued steel hands Case dimensions: 45mm Bracelet/strap: N/A Accessories: N/A SKU: 3562
Historical context
Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.
The pocket watch reached technical maturity and then began to give way to the wristwatch after the First World War. Complicated watches for collectors such as Henry Graves Jr. and James Ward Packard, railroad watches, and slim Art Deco dress watches are characteristic.
Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution
Atlas type guide
Hunter, half-hunter and open-face watches
In the nineteenth century the pocket watch case settled into a few standard forms. The hunter (French savonnette) has a hinged front lid protecting the crystal — reputedly for riders who could not risk broken glass — and is opened by pressing the crown or a push-piece. The half-hunter has a small window in the lid so the hands can be read when closed. The open-face (lépine) watch has no front cover, with the crown at 12; hunters normally carry the crown at 3.
Case types also changed with winding: key-wound watches gave way to keyless (stem-wound) mechanisms after Adrien Philippe's and others' designs of the 1840s, with pendant setting or lever setting.
What to look for
- Crown position relative to the seconds dial: at 3 for hunters, at 12 for open-face watches.
- Spring-loaded front cover with a push-piece in the pendant.
- Half-hunter chapter ring enamelled on the lid.
- Key holes in the inner dome (cuvette) versus keyless winding.
Dating clues
- Keyless winding spread after c. 1850 and became standard by c. 1890.
- English hallmarks inside gold and silver cases give the year of assay.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:Detached lever escapement
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