Cartier Tortue Monopusher Chronograph

This year’s addition to the Cartier Privè collection is one of the house’s oldest shapes, the Tortue. But unlike most years, this time around, we’ve also got a complication: a monopusher chronograph that calls back to the Tortue chronos from the 1920s, as well as the 1998 CPCP edition with ties to some serious indie watchmakers. The 2024 Tortue collection is completed with a trio of time-only models, one that’s diamond set. All are limited: the diamond-free chronographs and two-handers are all limited to 200 numbered pieces in each metal, platinum or yellow gold. The diamond-set platinum model is limited to 50 pieces. https://www.highluxurystore.ru
Cartier introduced the Tortue in 1912, making it older than pretty much every Cartier shape except the Santos-Dumont (1904). Tortue is French for “turtle,” but the combination of curved and straight lines make for a shape that’s more elegant than most leatherbacks I’ve met.

The return of the Tortue monopusher (monopoussoir, in French) chronograph is the biggest news, so let’s start there. The platinum or yellow gold case measures 43.7mm x 34.8mm and 10.2mm thick. It’s about the same size as the CPCP Monopusher, but the movement inside is completely different. A sapphire caseback reveals Cartier’s manufacture caliber 1928MC, a new movement that’s a column wheel chronograph with Côtes de Genève decoration on the bridges. It beats at 4 Hz and has a 44-hour power reserve.

Both the gold and platinum have a silver opaline dial, but the platinum version has applied, rhodium-plated Roman numerals, while the gold version has printed black numerals. Blued, Breguet-style hands complete the look. The monopusher chronograph is limited to 200 numbered pieces in each metal.
The hours-and-minutes Tortue uses the same design cues as the chronograph, but in a slightly smaller case that measures 42.4mm x 32.9mm and 7.2mm thick. Inside is Cartier’s caliber 430 MC, essentially a re-branded Piaget 430P that beats at 3 Hz with a relatively low 38-hour power reserve. Like the chronograph, the time-only Tortues are available in platinum and yellow gold, limited to 200 pieces each. In addition, Cartier threw in a platinum version that’s set with 54 brilliant-cut diamonds, and there’ll only be 50 of those. https://www.highluxurystore.ru
I’ll just say up front that the Tortue is one of my favorite shapes from Cartier. The way the case curves to meet those straight lugs captures so much of what I love about Cartier – romantic but rigid, Art Deco but also totally modern. (Yes, I have a ’70s Tortue.)

And it’s not just the shape. The Tortue pre-dates the Tank, so it’s got the heritage, too. It even has a modern pedigree, since in 1998 Cartier chose the Tortue as the home for its monopusher chronograph caliber developed in conjunction with THA Èbauche, the join-venture of legendary watchmakers Vianney Halter, Danis Flageolet (De Bethune), and F.P. Journe. https://www.highluxurystore.ru
Now, Cartier’s brought all that history back by bringing the Tortue to the Cartier Privè collection. I’m excited to get hands-on with these, especially the monopusher: Cartier hasn’t told us much about the movement, but says it’s a new column-wheel chronograph that measures just 4.3mm thick and touts its various finishing techniques, including Côtes de Genève, bevelling, and so on. More to come!