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WHEN WATCH NERDS MEET & TALK - part 2
When watch nerds meet, something extraordinary is happening. Fast and passionate talking, often in abbreviations and with the use of industry terms hard (if not impossible) to follow for people who not share the passion for those little mechanical wonders called wristwatches. A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of sharing a meal with our distinguished moderator Geo. Like most watchcollectors and –connoisseurs do we share more than just a passion for watches, so the location of our meet was a wonderful fish restaurant, where we not only could share a good meal, but also enjoy a good glass of wine. Topics of discussion where shoe’s, travelling, current state of the world, the watch universe but of course a large portion of the conversation was reserved for….Cartier! Before we actually met we decided to give out modest Get-To-Gather a theme; White Metal! This meant that only Cartier’s made from white colored metals like steel, white gold and of course platinum where allowed. This resulted in a rather unique group of watches that represent almost every aspect of Cartier’s greatness! 
2002 Santos Galbee LE In 2002 Cartier made a special Limited Edition of the Santos Galbee. They offered the all steel model with a unique satin silver dial and the roman numerals in luminova. Although it is an automatic, the date function is also dropped. This results in a very unique looking Santos. Although the Limited Edition consisted out of 2.000 pieces, and can be considered slightly generous, they are rarely seen on the market. 
Side by side yet decades apart For many years the Santos Galbee was the largest Santos in Cartier’s collection. Almost unbelievable when you think that we now have the Santos Galbee XL and of course the Santos 100. But even the Galbee is quite a bit larger than the original Santos. Take a look at this side-by-side picture with a more then stunning CPCP Santos, which closely resembles the Santos when it was created for aviation pioneer Santos Dumont. 
An ultra slim Tank with an ultra fine guilloché dial Cartier is often criticized for its choice in movements. Those critics truly need to take a closer look at Cartier’s collection. The CPCP Santos from the previous picture is for example powered by Frederic Piguet’s caliber 21. This was also the movement of choice for this pre-CPCP Louis Cartier Tank in platinum. The ultra slim characteristics of this movement allow the watch to have a very slim profile. Although Cartier introduced the Tank Normale and Tank Cintrée before the Louis Cartier Tank, this is still considered by many (including yours truly) as the ultimate Tank! 
A 38mm steel Pasha GMT/Powerreserve on bracelet next to a 42mm Pasha in white gold Also these two Pasha’s have very exclusive movements. When Girard-Perregaux developed a new manufacture movement in the early 1990’s Cartier was amongst the first to order it for some of its own models. They even developed an exclusive module that features a second timezone and power reserve, as can be found in the stainless steel model on the left. With the Pasha on the right, Cartier pays tribute to the original model that was crafted especially for the Pasha of Marrakech. Clean bezel, four Arabic numerals and the square railroadtrack in the middle; it is all there. It’s 42mm white gold case protects caliber 8000, that was made exclusively for Cartier by Jaeger-LeCoultre. 
Tank Chinoise Another CPCP-member is this stunning platinum Tank Chinoise. The more square look of this model is even amplified by the design of the case with its prominent horizontal bars. Also this watch has a high grade movement to power it. This time it is Piaget that supplied it’s manual wind 430P for this watch. And you can leave it to Cartier to decorate this movement in a magnificent way! 
Paiget's caliber 430P in Cartier style! But what about Cartier’s quartz-movements? Nothing wrong about those, especially when they put them in….pen’s! The black laquer and platinum plated one on the left is a magnificent fountain pen, while the one on the right is a ballpoint with perpetual calendar. The perpetual calendar is very low tech, but brilliant in it’s simplicity. A long barrel is engraved with all the 31 days and the a small barrel on top with the first letters of the name of the day. At the first of the month you align the number one with the correct day and you have a calendar for the whole month! You’ll be surprised how practical a device like this is on your desk! Cartier has a long legacy in making pen’s with clocks in it. Originally they where of course manual wind, but in modern times quartz is a more convenient choice because you don’t have to wind your pen everyday. For those of you really interested in Cartier’s history of writing instruments, make sure you check out the book “Cartier; Creative Writing” by Francois Chaille! 
The right time with the right pen And so a wonderful evening filled with all the good things of life comes to and end; great food, good wines, pleasant company, lively conversations and of course….magnificent Cartier’s! And when you lay your head to rest after such an evening you very literally experience why Cartier is the brand of dreams! ----------------------- Contributing Writer Moderator Revolution Online
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