When it comes down to talking about the best luxury watches in the world, it is rather difficult to leave out Cartier, one of the most well-known and respected high-end brands on the market. While they are known for their unique and luxurious jewelry, they are also known for having excellent watches and timepieces. But because of their reputation, rarity, and price point, many people often wonder: are Cartier watches worth buying?
Cartier watches are worth buying. The brand’s history, reputation, and quality craftsmanship on their wide variety of timepieces make them one of the most respected luxury watch brands in the world.
As I’ve looked into this topic more and more, I have found several reasons why Cartier is an excellent and underrated watch brand to buy. In the rest of the post, I will be breaking down every reason I have found in-depth to fully explain why Cartier is worth buying. Read on to view the full article!
So What Makes Cartier Watches Worth Buying?
While there are a plethora of reasons why Cartier watches are worth buying, there are several specific reasons I found that make them a stand-out watch brand. The main reasons are:
- Their Horology and history
- Use of rare and outstanding materials
- High-quality internal movements
- Unique design
- Variety of watches
Cartier has one of the richest and most interesting backstories out of all of the luxury watch brands, which is part of why they are such an amazing brand to buy. Louis-Francois Cartier was a professional watchmaker that started the brand in the mid-1800s in a small shop and slowly transformed it into an international luxury good powerhouse. Along the way, the Cartier brand has made a name for itself for its iconic red box packaging, brilliant innovation, and stylish, unique design.
Also, Cartier has fantastic internal watch movements as well that compete with other watch brands today. Cartier has always been known for having quality outside movements using ETA, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Audemars Piguet, and recently they have made their own in-house movement watch collection called “Calibre de Cartier”, which shows their attention to detail.
The Cartier brand makes sure to make their watches out of the best materials they can get their hands-on, and because of that, they are known for using 18K gold, stainless steel, and even platinum for some of their more exclusive watches. Their dedication to making sure that their watches are the best quality shows that they want to provide the best value for their customers, which makes the brand worth buying.
Lastly, they offer everyone a wide variety of timepieces to choose from. From timepieces ranging from the Tank, the Santos, Ballon Bleu, and to the Tortue, Cartier has all of the watches and more that can satisfy what you’re looking for.
Without further ado, let’s dive deeper into all of the reasons why Cartier is an amazing watch brand to buy!
1. Rich Horology and History
Out of all of the watch brands on the market, Cartier has one of, if not the most, intriguing and rich back story, horology, and history. Because of this, it makes Cartier one of the best and most respected brands worth buying.
The founder of the Cartier brand, Louis-Francois Cartier (who was a professional watchmaker), started the company with humble beginnings in the mid-1800s when he opened up a small shop where he would make his own watches. Ever since that moment, the Cartier brand made a name for itself by making watches with excellent craftsmanship and packaged in an iconic red box, and as more stores and shops started to open over the years, they started to become a large, international business.
Cartier started to really gain traction after they came up with the “Santos” watch model, which was created in the early 19th century after a pilot Alberto Santos-Dumont needed a “hand-free” watch when he was flying his plane since pocket watches were popular back then. Because of this, they gave Alberto a wristwatch for aviation purposes, which then popularized wristwatches overall, and the Cartier brand took off.
After that point, Cartier kept releasing iconic watch models like the “Tank”, which was inspired by tanks in World War I, and they started to become an international luxury good brand by making all types of timeless, expertly crafted jewelry that makes them highly regarded to this day.
As you can see, the Cartier brand has an interesting past and history, and they have proven that their quality, style, and attention to detail make them a highly sought-after brand, which makes them a watch brand worth buying.
2. High-quality internal movements
As a luxury watch brand, Cartier has been known for having fantastic watch movements by using outside sources but also using their own in-house movements.
For the majority of Cartier watches, they tend to use movements sourced by outside suppliers such as ETA movements, Jaeger-Lecoultre, and Audemars Piguet movements. These movements that Cartier uses are excellent and get the job done, however, watch enthusiasts frown upon this because it’s not their own in-house movement that they made.
However, Cartier responded to this by opening their own manufacture in Switzerland in 2005, and shortly after, they have been impressing watch enthusiasts by making their own in-house movements and releasing a collection called “Calibre de Cartier”, which they completely manufacture with their own in-house movement. This shows the drive and commitment that Cartier has to keep improving upon their iconic and well-known brand, which makes them worth buying.
3. Rare and high-end materials
One of the first reasons I found why Cartier watches are worth buying is because of their use of rare and luxurious materials. Throughout history, even from the beginning when Cartier started to make watches, the brand has been known for using exquisite metals and leathers for their watches.
With other watch brands on the market, they tend to not hit the mark on material quality, but with Cartier however, you are sure to get your money’s worth when it comes down to materials.
More specifically, Cartier is known for using 18K gold and stainless steel in the majority of their watches, which make them durable, stylish, rare, and high class. And for some of their more expensive and exclusive timepieces, they feature diamond and platinum. As for their strap and bracelet material, they also use precious metals as well but they also have high-end leather straps often made out of crocodile leather.
However, if you’re someone who is just starting to get into watches, it is easy to mix up a watch bracelet and a watch strap. But no need to worry, my friend, I have written an in-depth article differentiating the two just for you. If you want to check out the post, click here.
Nonetheless, as I’ve shown above, Cartier’s use of rare and high-end materials shows their dedication to making the best watch they can, which makes their timepieces worth buying.
4. Unique Design
As I have looked at Cartier watches more, I have realized that Cartier has it’s own unique and distinct unlike any other brand on the watch market, which makes them stand out and worth having for your collection.
Most watch brands tend to stick to a more circular watch case, but Cartier (even though they do also have circular-shaped watches) tends to have a more non-traditional design that features more rectangular, square, and ovular cases, which makes them distinct and one of a kind.
Similarly, Cartier’s dial design is iconic and unlike other watch brands. What makes their dial design stand out is instead of using regular numbers to tell time, Cartier uses classic and sleek black roman numerals that can be easily spotted. As soon as you see those black roman numerals and that unique face design, you know immediately that you are looking at a Cartier watch, which shows that they are a brand that’s bold and stylish.
5. Variety of Watches
Not only is Cartier watches well crafted and well designed, but I realized that they also offer a wide range of watches that caters to all of their consumers. When it comes time to buying a luxury watch, it is best to have as many options as possible to choose from so you can get the most out of your purchase.
For example, if you are someone who is looking for a more classic, stylish, and iconic watch model from Cartier, they have you completely covered with their “Tank”, “Ballon Bleu”, and “Santos” watch models. But if you’re someone who is looking for a more non-traditional and different watch design, Cartier also has the watches for you with their “Tortue” and “Drive de Cartier” watch models.
This shows how versatile Cartier can be when it comes to all of their watch models. Whatever you’re looking for out of a watch, the Cartier brand has what you need.
Wrapping Up
At the end of the day, Cartier watches are worth buying. The multi-billion dollar company has shown time and time again that its timepieces are expertly crafted with rare high-quality materials and unique design, which makes them sought after and respected. Not only are they a fashionable watch brand, but they offer an abundance of watches that is sure to satisfy your needs.
I have been a big fan of Cartier watches for years now, and I definitely want one of their watches in my collection in the future. They have a dedication and commitment to making exquisite timepieces like no other.