The Cartier Lanières Tonneau Mini: A Study in Curved Elegance
Origins: The Tonneau Shape
The Tonneau watch was first created by Cartier in 1906. This was one of the first non-round watches to be created by the French watchmaker, and it was one of the first watches to be designed with the watch case as an object of design in its own right, as opposed to a simple container for the movement. The elongated, gently curved form of the Tonneau watch follows the natural curve of the wrist and is in contrast to the stiff, flat-cased watches of the time.
The Lanières Line
Cartier’s Lanières collection is a line of smaller, more delicate watches designed for women, using the same Tonneau shape as the larger watches in the collection. The name of the collection, Lanières, means straps or bands in French, a reference to the many different bracelet and strap designs used for the watches in the collection. The watches in the collection are typically made of 18K yellow, rose or white gold and have white dials with Roman numeral markers, similar to Cartier’s earliest watches.
Case & Design
The Reference WJ2004W3 and other members of the Lanières family feature the “mini tonneau” case size. This is a scaled-down version of the original Tonneau case and so retains the distinctive curved profile of the larger watch but in a much more compact form. The cases of the Lanières watches are typically 16 x 27mm in size and so are very small. Many of the references in the line feature a matching metal bracelet but others are presented on a range of different fabric and leather straps, offering a more casual alternative to the dressier look of the bracelet.
Dial & Bezel Details
White dials with Roman numeral markers are found in the majority of Lanières references. The combination of a clean white dial with Roman numerals on a curved case makes for a very classic, easy-to-read watch. A number of the references in the line feature a diamond-set bezel, adding some sparkle to the case of the watch but in a way that remains true to the overall design of the watch.
Movement
The Lanières collection of watches are driven by a quartz movement. This type of movement was chosen for the collection because of its slim design and the reliability of a quartz movement for daily use, as opposed to the more complex hand-wound or automatic movements found in some of Cartier’s other lines such as the Tank and larger Tonneau models.
Why the Line Stands Out
The Lanières collection is a great example of the brand’s history in terms of design, taking one of the most architecturally significant cases of the brand and shrinking it down to a more wearable size for everyday use. As such, the mini Tonneau cases of the Lanières collection are of interest to Cartier collectors who are also interested in the brand’s design language.
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