Inside Cartier’s New Watchmaking Exhibition in the Miami Design District
It was unseasonably cold in Miami on Wednesday night, but that didn’t stop YouTuber Emma Chamberlain, NBA legend Dwayne Wade and musician James Blake, among a host of influencers, celebs and scenesters—it’s Art Basel Miami Beach week, after all—from paying homage to Cartier at the kickoff party for “Time Unlimited,” the brand’s new pop-up exhibition in the Miami Design District.
Open to the public through Dec. 22, the traveling exhibition occupies a temporary, three-story space at 45 NE 41st Street custom built to house displays dedicated to Cartier’s legacy as a watchmaker. While most watch lovers hardly need to be reminded of that legacy, the brand, which debuted Time Unlimited in Hong Kong a year ago, has set out to educate its scores of fans around the world who still think of the maison as first and foremost a jeweler.
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Upon entering the exhibition, visitors will discover Cartier’s reputation as “the watchmaker of shapes,” a reference to its track record of producing distinctive wristwatches in daring forms. Museum-style vitrines showcase shaped pieces that belong to both the current range and the Cartier Collection, an archive of designs that serves as a material record of the brand’s 170-year history of creativity and experimentation.
The fetching timepieces on display range from models shaped like rectangles (including numerous versions of the brand’s signature Tank watch), to ovals (the bathtub-inspired Baignoire), octagons (such as the intriguing 1978 Ceinture model), even parallelograms (don’t miss the blue dial version of the Tank Asymétrique, introduced in 1936).
Willo Perron, a founding partner of the Los Angeles-based design studio Perron-Roettinger, which developed the exhibition’s set design, brand identity and art direction, said the team purposely based the set “on the forms of the watches themselves.”
“The whole concept for the exhibition is about celebrating the iconic shapes that Cartier has created,” Perron said in a statement. “What an iconic thing to be associated with, both so unexpected and powerful.”
An adjoining space features a cinematic meditation on the nature of time. Dubbed the “Cartier Time Project,” it stars brand ambassador Jake Gyllenhaal in a series of black-and-white vignettes that playfully illustrate concepts such as “time to smile,” “time to dream” and “time to take risks.”
Subsequent rooms delve into Cartier’s “Pioneering Spirit,” as conveyed by a three-minute film about the three Cartier brothers (Pierre, Louis and Jacques), and the brand’s “Culture of Design,” an ode to the purity of lines that distinguish its most iconic watches, including the Tank, the Santos de Cartier, the Panthère de Cartier and the Ballon Bleu.
In “Technique Serves Beauty,” a tunnel-shaped room with moving imagery and text, Cartier’s history of innovation in watchmaking is brought to the fore in displays highlighting esoteric details like the brand’s photovoltaic SolarBeat movement, introduced in 2021, and the number of control checks carried out on all its watches (more than 100, from mechanical resistance to power reserve).
“Cartier has long balanced craftsmanship with innovation,” Walter Bolognino, president and CEO of Cartier North America, said in a statement. “This installation captures Cartier’s endless quest for designing creations that link well-balanced beauty, rigorous technical expertise and the maison’s rich heritage.”
The exhibition is open daily, except Tuesdays, from Dec. 7-22. Registration isn’t needed—all guests are encouraged to walk in.
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