By John Galt
The new Ronde watch was released very quietly and very much under the radar compared to some of the pieces from Cartier’s fine watch division. This time only piece is not from the infamous fine watch division collection, but instead three different versions have been released to be more affordable and mainstream.
The Ronde Croisiere is available in three variations, silver dial, black hands and steel case (above left), grey dial, gold plated bezel and hands and steel case (above right) plus my favourite version of the collection the grey dial, steel hands and case (below).
All three versions have an ADLC coated bezel which stands for Amorphous Diamond-Like Carbon, an extremely hard and exceptionally smooth coating which is applied at temperatures of 200 Celsius giving it an almost scratch free and fingerprint resistant finish.
The case measures 42mm, a perfect size for everyday wear with either a suit or more relaxed attire. This may not be from Cartier’s fine division but, believe me, this has all the hallmarks a Cartier should. The dial is characterised by Cartier’s signature bold Roman numerals and crisp white and black rail-track minute circle hugs the outer edge of the dial giving a nice contrast between bezel and dial. The Sword-shaped hands have been skeletonized with the seconds hand also featuring an open circle at the tip, making up the dial is a date window at 3 O’clock with a date ring matching the colour of each dial giving the complication a symmetrical look. The crown is another typical element of Cartier pieces with a black synthetic cabochon set into the bi-directional winding crown.
Turning the piece over there is no exhibition case back to the watch, instead there is a solid case back with serial numbers engraved.
Inside beats, Cartier’s own fairly new in-house calibre 1847MC beating at 28,800 vph with a power reserve of 48hours. Finishing off the piece is a supple black calfskin strap with double adjustable folding clasp. The case is waterproof to 100m. Retail price starts at $4,650 in steel rising to $5,300 in steel and rose gold.
Conclusion
I understand what Cartier are doing with this new Ronde mixing classic dress dials with a sports case and bezel. Aimed squarely at the non-Cartier wearers or the ones that are new to Cartier that predominantly wear diving watches that now want to move over to a more dress watch but don’t want to go all the way. Would I wear one with a suit instead of a full diver’s watch? Most definitely. For more info, please visit cartier.com
JOHN GALT – CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
John Galt caught the horology bug back in 2010 on his first visit to a London watch show and has snowballed since; John has become an avid writer and blogger of timepieces of all kinds, from everyday timepieces to modern Luxury HauteHorology, his favorite brands being HYT and GreubelForsey that push the boundaries of modern watch-making. John keeps a keen interest in the UK watch scene with their many emerging brands and timepieces. John Galt currently contributes watch related articles for online publications in the UK and USA. You can follow John on Twitter @johng73 Read his articles here.
