Entering the heart of creation inside the Cartier Switzerland manufacture

Travel with Prestige to the Cartier Manufacture in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where the magic unfolds.

A recent visit to the Cartier Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland — where the maison’s iconic timepieces are created and assembled — reveals an impressive 33,000-square-metre space that’s one of the largest fully integrated watch production facilities in the country, and the meeting point of watchmaking tradition and horological innovation.

To step into the inner sanctum that is the Cartier Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds is to discover the extraordinary processes involved to create a Cartier timepiece, which begins with the design and development phase: sketches, mock-ups and prototypes.

This is followed by the conception stage when the technical aspect of the watch is worked on and what is referred to as “industrialisation”. The latter involves looking into the manufacturing of each component and creating the tools required to make them, as well as the assembly of the watch. Finally comes the actual watch production, followed by a rigorous inspection on the completed timepieces before they’re sent to various retail boutiques. These steps, however, represent a very simplified timeline — the dedication and commitment that go into the creation of every Cartier watch is a lengthy process. Perfection, after all, takes time.

Inside the Cartier Switzerland manufacture

Every new timepiece and its components like the dial, case, bracelet and sapphire crystal must go through a validation phase. This encompasses mechanical and chemical tests carried out in controlled lab settings, such as resistance to shocks and magnetism, waterproofness, climatic and even acidic tests to simulate the effect of perspiration on the watch.

At any stage, the Cartier Manufacture has about 150 projects running at once, with the development of each new watch ranging from one to two years – depending on its complexity. During our visit, which happened to be the day before the start of the 2024 edition of Watches and Wonders Geneva, we were fortunate to get a first glimpse of a prototype of the exciting Reflection de Cartier Collection launched at the watch event.

Following the Clash [Un]limited and Coussin watches, the Reflection de Cartier watch continues the odyssey of magic, illusion and fascination. The result of Cartier’s work on shapes, it combines the savoir-faire from Cartier watchmakers and jewellers alike. At the core is the open bracelet’s unprecedented generous architecture, which blends openwork and polished reflective gold with elongated lines and defined edges. Tension culminates as a delicate dial meets its reflection, where time appears to move backwards. The gem-like bevelled glass on the dial marks the piece’s double identity — equal in sophistication and precision.

This structure has given rise to a watch in white gold that explores the effects of materials through combinations of paved settings, while the snow setting and inverted setting combine to give both tactile and sparkling appeal. And we got to see it first where it was actually created!

Inaugurated in 2001, the Cartier Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds brings together most of the professions involved in the production of watches, from design to administrative and support departments — some 850 highly experienced employees apply their skills here, be it with non-circular watches, traditional watches, or high jewellery watch creations.

From the design sketches to finished products, the manufacture controls the various stages of production and the interactions between all the collaborators, allowing them to produce creations which meet Cartier’s high standard of quality.

During the initial design and development stage, the mission of the design office is to translate what the designers have imagined into concrete plans that can be configured and produced using industrial watchmaking equipment, while ensuring compliance with the specifications from a technical and aesthetic point of view. Using 3D printers, resin mock-ups of the model are first made to check the aesthetic. The next step is to build a working prototype. A technical report is drawn up for each watch and accompanies it throughout the manufacturing process.

Based on the technical dossier, the expertise and skills required, the Industrial Processes department defines the industrial process(es) needed for the model’s manufacturing and ensures ongoing improvements. Pre-production allows these processes to be checked before launching production in “real” quantities which correspond to the launch quantities defined according to market expectations.

In the manufacture’s workshops, production combines tradition and modernity with hand craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology dedicated to the production of mirrors, hands and links. It is in these workshops that the mineral crystals are made which, unlike sapphire crystals, can be used to create complex shapes that are perfectly suited to the maison’s shaped watches, through traditional savoir-faire. Although the thickness and size of the sheet determine the chevage time (when it is heated to very high temperatures), it is the operator who validates the work through visual inspection alone. No machine can make decisions or take control.

Committed to acquiring all the artistry that is required to create them, Cartier is one of the rare brands to have been manufacturing its own watch hands since 2002. In fact, 85 percent of the hands produced by the manufacture are blue, a colour recognised as a Cartier signature.

Unlike the production of mineral crystals and hands, link production uses cutting-edge technology. To process the metal sections (or bars) and turn them into links, eight processing operations are carried out on high-performance machines, controlled by highly-skilled operators. The figures speak for themselves: nine bars can be processed simultaneously; the eight machining operations are completed in 30 seconds per link for the simplest models, and up to 90 seconds for more complex models. The machines have to be adjusted to a very high degree of precision, which can take between two and 16 hours. For Cartier, investing in such machinery is a guarantee of the excellence and reliability of its bracelets.

To ensure the quality and reliability of the watches, checks are made throughout its entire life cycle, from validation during the development process to the final check. Intermediate checks are made during assembly before the strap is fitted. Final checks are also carried out before the watches are sent to boutiques.

Created in 2014 and located in an exquisitely restored historical building next to the La Chaux-de-Fonds Manufacture, a visit to the LEED Platinum-certified Maison des Métiers d’Art was a personal highlight. It is the result of a bold vision for Cartier, which affirms its respect and determination to bring artisanal crafts together to interact with one another in a quest for continuous innovation. Preserving, sharing and innovating; these are the missions of this unique site, where ancestral techniques, most often passed down orally from generation to generation and in danger of being forgotten, are rediscovered, reinterpreted and adapted in line with modern techniques.

This is also where these areas of expertise meet and combine to give rise to new practices. A technical and cultural heritage that Cartier protects and develops with passion.

At the Maison des Métiers d’Art, the crafts are divided into three main families: the art of fire (mastery of enamelling techniques and gold fragmentation), the art of metal (Etruscan granulation, filigree and flamed metal) and the art of composition (mosaics and marquetry in wood, straw, flowers, wood and gold, straw and gold, etc.). It’s a non-exhaustive list, and one that’s impressive for its specificity, without even mentioning the art of master watchmakers specialising in haute horlogerie, jewellers and gem-setters.

A common objective shared by all departments of the Cartier Manufacture is a constant exchange between creativity and technique, ancestral savoir-faire, and cutting-edge technology – a collaboration between all professions, united around a single goal: technology in the service of design. It is this unique DNA, along with the quality and precision of the maison’s craftsmanship that meets the demands of a passionate clientele, that Cartier cultivates in its manufactures. This rare alchemy, which characterises all Cartier creations, enables the maison to design and offer products crafted with innovative technology and design: Coussin, Révélation, Clash[Un] limited, invention of specific and adapted systems (photovoltaic movement, Smartlink/ QuickSwitch), amongst others.

Beyond the creation and production processes, customer service is another important aspect of the Manufacture’s operations. Cartier watches are serviced for life. While simpler repairs are done at (or through) the boutique, more complex work is done here – like making parts for older models that aren’t available anymore.

As our behind-the-scenes visit to the world of watchmaking at Cartier draws to a close, I leave with profound respect for the men and women – the extraordinary craftspeople – who spend hours upon hours, bent over in deep concentration at their benches, to apply their skills. With that also comes an understanding why every Cartier watch is so much more than just an instrument that tells the time.

This article was first published in Prestige Malaysia