Cartier, Paris

Known as the King of Jewelers and the Jeweler to Kings, Masion Cartier has always been at the forefront of design and elegance, and their aesthetics reached a zenith during the 1920s and 1930s.

To power its exceptionally designed watches, Cartier turned to Paris-based watch maker Edmond Jaeger during the 1920s to form the European Watch and Clock Company. The joint venture granted Cartier exclusive access to all European Watch and Clock Company movements for a period of 15 years. Edmond Jaeger turned to movement specialist LeCoultre & Cie to manufacture the technologically advanced and ultra-thin movements he envisioned, and to produce the necessary quantity to fill the increasing amount of orders from Cartier. The three-way relationship turned out to be so successful that Jaeger and LeCoultre & Cie officially merged to become Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1937, and Cartier continued to rely on movements provided by the firm for decades. Watches bearing movements that exemplify this three-way partnership have since become highly sought after for their rarity and technological ingenuity for the time. 

The present timepiece hosts one of the most important movements made by LeCoultre the Caliber 403 —Duoplan movement with the crown positioned in the top right corner— which paved the way for the Calibre 101, the world's smallest mechanical watch movement.

Evolved from the earlier, and almost as tiny, Duoplan movement, the cal. 101 was developed for exceptionally tiny and refined ladies’ watches, both wristwatches and even ring watches; Queen Elizabeth famously wore one during her coronation. Almost a century later it is still fit for purpose, having been installed in a pair of Joaillerie 101 watches recently unveiled at the Venice International Film Festival.

Bearing crisp French Assay marks and the distinctive French EJ maker’s mark of Edmond Jaeger, the case and bracelet are in beautiful condition for its age and the watch is accompanied by its original Cartier box. It makes one wonder, with every tick of its hands recording the passage of time, what great histories this watch once bore witness to before it joined the storied collection of Ms. Buffy Birritella, a personal gift from Mr. Ralph Lauren, after the pair saw first it in a antique arcade in the streets of London.

A truly timeless timepiece fit for the modern, jet-setting lover of history and couture.