Cartier's first minute repeater watch, to be revealed at SIHH 2012.

Written by: Vanessa Formato

When it comes to this year’s Salon de la Haute Horologie (SIHH), Cartier Watches is pulling out all the stops. Among the many exciting reveals the luxury watch giants will be making at the event is their very first minute repeater watch, the Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon.

Cartier has been anticipating this moment for some time now: the Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon has been in development for approximately five years, making the upcoming reveal in Geneva all the more exciting. The watch will feature complications like its namesake flying tourbillon and minute repeater, as well as some elegant visual details like blue hands and accents on the titanium version, accompanied by Cartier’s signature Roman numerals on the face. The flying tourbillon and the repeater mechanisms are visible through the piece’s face, a design aspect that is sure to delight enthusiasts. The watch will also be available in pink gold.

The watch’s availability will be extremely limited. Cartier plans to release only 50 watches in each casing. In addition, only 20 of these artisanal watches can be produced per year, so the demand for the pieces is sure to quickly skyrocket. This isn’t a watch for the casual collector with price tags set at $287,000 for the titanium casing and $294,000 for the pink gold casing. Reportedly, there is also a diamond-accented version planned for future release.

A repeater is a complication that is capable of chiming the time at the press of a button (unlike striking clocks or watches, which sound the time at regular intervals). The increments of time that these watches are capable of tracking is dependent on the kind of repeater implemented. A minute repeater is capable of sounding the time down to the minute through a series of different tones to denote hours and minutes. Minute repeater watches were once a valuable and practical resource for watch-wearers operating in the dark as well as for the visually impaired, but light-up displays and other alternatives for the blind have largely taken their place. Today, they are primarily prized by watch enthusiasts for their intricacy and increasing rarity.

This year’s SIHH will be held January 16 through 20 in Geneva. The event is a private trade fair open only to invited individuals in the fine watch-making community.