Rotonde de Fake Cartier Double Tourbillon Mystérieux: Houdini sends his regards

Mysterious mechanics, mysterious double tourbillons, floating hands: For over a hundred years, Fake Cartier has been creating illusion-filled watches that are hard to beat in terms of craftsmanship. A look behind the curtain of the mechanical marvel of the Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Double Mystérieux luxury watch launched in 2013.

The secret of floating hands

This and later creations were fascinating because their drive is not immediately apparent. The hands appear to rotate in a vacuum. Only at second glance does it become apparent that they are attached to externally toothed glass plates. The power transmission from the movement in the case base was carried out by a spiral axis system rotating in columns on the side.

As if woven from moonbeams

The French “Gazette des Guten Tones” reported delightedly in 1925 about “wonders of the art of watchmaking”. “Unreal and as if woven from moonbeams, they reveal the mystery of time,” it says flowery. But not only the watches themselves, but also the prices were exorbitant. These were justified by the elaborate manufacturing and precious decorations, for example with precious stones. But it was precisely this, and their rarity, that enticed wealthy customers from all over the world to buy the probably fewer than ninety examples that were made between 1913 and 1930.

Watch with mysterious double tourbillon

The top model with the manufacture caliber 9454 MC is at least two steps above. Its unique selling point is the mysterious double tourbillon. This is where the “flying” tourbillon titanium bogie comes into its own. To compensate for the negative influences of gravity, it completes a complete rotation per minute. The drive does not appear to be connected to the finely decorated hand-wound movement.

The total of 242 parts are housed in a 45-millimeter platinum case. The Geneva Seal attests to the small wonder’s technical and watchmaking excellence as well as its accuracy.

Further development

During Watches & Wonders 2015, Cartier presented the next technical mystery. The classic version of the mechanism with two hand discs can be found in a case of the Clé type, which was introduced at the beginning of 2015. This has a unique winding and hand setting crown reminiscent of a key.