movements

From the most traditional to the most signature, like the skeleton and the mysterious. From the smallest, like Tonneau, to the most innovative, like the photovoltaic movement. All the Maison’s calibres meet the same exacting standards. All ensure technical expertise at the service of design. These movements are tested and approved in our laboratory to ensure a high level of reliability in terms of precision and rate stability. In addition, verification of resistance to shocks, magnetic fields and mechanical ageing are completed.

In 2021, Cartier relaunched its iconic Tank Must by offering an innovative photovoltaic movement that adapts to the collection’s codes. The principle was based on the perforation of the Roman numerals, which were applied to the entire dial. This technical feat allows solar energy to reach the photovoltaic cells hidden beneath the dial. It took two years for the development team to integrate this SolarBeatTM movement, with an estimated autonomy of 16 years, into the Tank Must, the first watch to benefit from this technology. 

Inspired by a long tradition at the Maison dating back to the late 1920s, the Cartier skeleton acquired signature status with the creation of the Santos 100 Skeleton watch in 2009. Instantly recognisable by its sculpted bridges in the form of Roman numerals, the 9611 MC calibre is a patented design which renders Cartier the sole watchmaker capable of creating a skeleton movement whose bridges have a time-telling function.

In 2023, the Cartier Manufacture introduced a new automatic skeleton calibre 9629 MC in tribute to the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont. Inventive and narrative, this movement includes a miniaturised functional oscillating weight in the shape of a replica of the Demoiselle, a trailblazing plane designed by the pilot in 1907.

The 1928 MC movement pays tribute to the very first Tortue Chrono Monopoussoir watch, created in 1928. This calibre combines all the chronograph functions—start, stop and reset—in a single push-button integrated into the winding crown. In 2024, Cartier reinvented this complication in a new calibre 1928 MC, which became one of the finest chronograph movements in its watchmaking repertoire.

On the Masse Mystérieuse watch, the hands float in the case. The entire 9801 MC movement, which took 8 years to develop, seems weightless. All components that receive energy from the movement, transmission and regulation are integrated in the rotor. The rotor itself is skeletonised to make this moving spectacle visible. In the centre, an ultra-sophisticated differential system has been integrated into the movement to prevent the time display from being caught in the mass.

The quintessence of Cartier Fine Watchmaking, the 9983 MC movement combines two of the Maison’s signatures, the skeleton and the mysterious display. Based on the notion of emptiness, the hands seem to float, while the skeletonised dial enhances transparency, without ever revealing any of the magic of the mysterious mechanism.