Cartier Jewelry Watches: Grain de Café, Tank, and Myst—A Blend of Gold and Movement

At Cartier, a watch can be a bracelet whose most precious detail becomes apparent only upon a second glance. Grain de Café, the new Tank jewelry watches, and Myst de Cartier showcase three different approaches to achieving this: movable gold motifs, colored links, and an elastic jewelry strap. What they all have in common is that the time display becomes part of the composition.

Grain de Café: A Design for Your Wrist

The coffee bean motif has been part of the house’s jewelry collection since 1938 and is closely associated with Jeanne Toussaint’s creative direction. As early as 1947, it was used to create a brooch watch. Now, for the first time, Cartier has adapted the motif into a wristwatch. Fluted, sculpturally curved elements in yellow gold surround the small dial and continue along the bracelet. Individual elements remain movable; their appearance changes with the wearer’s movements.

White gold serves as the backdrop for the diamond setting. A total of 203 brilliant-cut diamonds and eight princess-cut diamonds are used. The case and bracelet feature 145 stones totaling 3.31 carats, while the dial—finished using the snow-set technique—features an additional 66 stones totaling 0.27 carats. The watch measures 41.5 by 33.5 millimeters and is 9.3 millimeters thick. A quartz movement powers the time display.

Tank Jewelry Watch: The Clean Lines Take on Color

The parallel sides of the Tank case remain recognizable even when adorned with jewelry. Cartier, however, extends this geometry into the flexible bracelets: cylindrical links and diamond-set connectors form a fluid sequence. In the white gold version, black onyx provides a graphic contrast to the brilliance of the diamonds. The case and bracelet are set with 349 stones totaling 7.45 carats, while the dial features an additional 272 stones totaling 0.73 carats.

The rose gold version combines red coral with a dial made of shimmering gold-colored obsidian. The colored accents soften the austere rectangular shape. Cartier lists 804 diamonds totaling 13.78 carats on the case and bracelet. The Tank jewelry watches measure 31 by 24.2 millimeters and are 6.75 millimeters thick; they are powered by quartz movements with long battery life.

Myst de Cartier: a bracelet with no visible clasp

Myst de Cartier looks like a string of three-dimensional, precious pearls. In fact, it features a flexible design that can be slipped onto the wrist without a separate clasp. Different sizes and four-prong settings create a rhythmic pattern; the small geometric dial blends into it almost like another piece of jewelry.

In yellow gold, hand-applied black lacquer contrasts with the diamonds. The white gold version emphasizes their brilliance: the case and bracelet alone feature 986 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 9.17 carats, plus 45 stones on the dial. Cartier estimates that this version required 112 hours of setting work. The case measures 19.7 by 15.4 millimeters and is 9.8 millimeters high. It, too, is powered by a quartz movement.

All three designs are water-resistant up to 3 bar. Their true commonality, however, lies in their design: Cartier treats the case, dial, and bracelet as a single, cohesive piece of jewelry. The mechanics of the moving parts and the craftsmanship of the goldsmiths and gem setters define the watch’s character just as much as the time itself.