Cartier in Motion

Fascinating exhibition at the Design Museum tracing the invention of the wrist watch by Cartier and the subsequent designs by the company. The exhibition itself was designed by the architect Norman Foster.

I loved the first section of the show which looked at Paris at start of the 20th century when Cartier began working there and how it influenced his designs. It then talked about his friend Alberto Santos-Dumont, an aviator who won a competition to complete a round trip from the Parc Saint Cloud, round the Eifel Tower, and back again in less than half an hour in an airship. Santos-Dumont, who moved into aircraft design, talked to Cartier about how difficult it was to consult a pocket watch while flying a plane so Cartier designed a watch to wear on his wrist for him and named his first design after his friend.

The show then took you through the various designs of the classic watches. I must admit I struggled to tell the different between some of the designs. I preferred some of the other examples of Cartier design often with watches built it such as travel accessories and pen stands. There was a section on famous people wearing the watches including a nice video of stills of them.

The show also featured a car and an aeroplane designed by Cartier with reproductions of them but they looked a bit cramped in a small exhibition space.

Closed on 28 July 2017

Review
Evening Standard

 

 

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