
Accessories
This iconic watch is making a comeback, according to every fashion girl out there
Cartier is bringing back its Panthère de Cartier women’s watch, originally launched in the Eighties, signaling a strategic return to its jewel-making roots as the watch industry struggles with weak demand and excess stocks and it is already in sale at Net-a-porter. Its reintroduction represents a turnaround from recent years, when Cartier courted the men’s market with timepieces such as Drive de Cartier and the Calibre de Cartier Diver.
“Panthère de Cartier is definitely the most important launch for us this year,” Arnaud Carrez, international marketing and communications director at Cartier, told WWD in an exclusive interview. “We are placing women as our number-one priority, because we are a feminine maison and when we create watches, there is this feminine spirit.”
The core collection consists of 14 references in two sizes, small and medium, in materials including steel, yellow gold, pink gold, white gold and black lacquer, with or without diamond paving. Prices range from $4,000 for the small steel model to $141,000 for a medium fully paved high-jewelry version. The original design, with its square case on a supple chain-link bracelet, has been left virtually unchanged.
The panther has been a theme in Cartier’s collections since the Thirties, when Jeanne Toussaint was director of fine jewelry at the house. Launched in 1984 and became a quintessential watch of the decade, popular with both women and men like Pierce Brosnan, who wore one in the television series “Remington Steele.” Discontinued in 2004, it remains in demand on the vintage market and has been spotted in recent years on the wrists of celebrities and influencers.
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