Cartier Ronde Louis Cartier XL Flamed Gold

Quick specs Cartier Ronde Louis Cartier XL Flamed Gold
Price: on request
Size: 42 mm
Reference: unknown

The French luxury brand Cartier has always had watches, necklaces, brooches, cigarette cases and more with panthers on it. The Panthère de Cartier. So has this Cartier Ronde Louis Cartier XL Flamed Gold. A limited edition of 30 pieces for collectors we presume. And panther lovers. We cannot think of any other reason or occasion one would wear this. But it’s unisex, which changes our old-fashioned view a bit.

In ancient times, the Egyptians already had cats as a symbol of grace, wisdom, protection or gods. Think about the Great Sphinx of Gaza, presumably built around 2500 BC. In the early 1900s Cartier was already using panthers in its advertisements. The story goes that in 1914 Louis Cartier asked French painter George Barbier to create a watercolor painting that could be used on an invitation for the Parisian jewelry exhibition. Cartier must have liked it because since than the panther is illustrated on lots of Cartier’s jewelry and watches.

With a 42-millimeter case this Cartier Ronde Louis Cartier XL Flamed Gold can be worn by men and women

For this Cartier Ronde Louis Cartier XL Flamed Gold version Cartier uses a new technique to create the dial. It is called the flamed gold technique and inspired by the method of bluing watch hands in a flame. First, the pattern of the panther’s coat is engraved onto the 18K white gold dial. The gold plate is heated in a flame to produce an initial color, and returned to the flame as many times as necessary until the full palette of colors has been produced. The hotter the flame, the bluer the gold gets. Less hotter flames create beige colors. Although we do not feel any need to walk around with a panther on our watch, the result looks great.

Inside is a manual winding Piaget 430P base Cartier movement (caliber 430 MC). The result is a slim (7.24 millimeters) case from 18K white gold. The bezel is ‘enriched’ with baguette-cut diamonds and of course it has Cartier’s signature crown. Cartier didn’t publish a price (yet) so if you are interested, give them a call.