Cartier’s 2026 collection recalibrates loved watches, offering a series of returns to canonical shapes. All are recognisable, but reconsidered with new materials, finer mechanics, or a more considered surfaces, some more unexpected than others.
From the jewellery workbench to the movement lab, the breadth of Cartier’s new releases cannot be understated. It underlines the brand’s standing in collector circles, having had a massive rise on the auction scene as well as climbing the list in terms of turnover. Even to an untrained eye, it is clear that creativity is the strongest factor of Cartier’s resurgence, and at Watches and Wonders this year, it shows.
Baignoire
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The Baignoire has stole the limelight on many an Instagrammed wrist lately, and now gets a new surface treatment at Watches and Wonders 2026. The bangle-bracelet version, introduced in 2023, now features the Clou de Paris motif throughout its length. Appearing as glittering armour, its bracelet, case, and dial has been rendered in monochrome, tactile yellow gold. The hobnail pattern, a Cartier staple since the 1920s, is pressed into the gold through a craft process that preserves volume and evenness, then hand-polished to amplify each point’s definition. An almost otherworldy diamond version adds 171 brilliant-cut stones fitted across case and bangle, with a snow-set dial. The result is a jewellery watch where texture transforms the sleek Baignoire, opening a new chapter for the petite charmer.
Cartier Privé
(Image credit: Cartier)
Heralding the tenth edition of Cartier Privé, Les Opus marks a decade of collector-focused releases by bringing back three shapes from previous chapters: the Tank Normale, the Tortue Chronographe Monopoussoir, and the enigmatic Crash Squelette. All three are rendered in platinum with a burgundy accent running through straps, dial details, and the rare ruby cabochon crown. The Crash has been the brand’s heavy-hitting auction star for years and will undoubtedly get the most attention with a new skeleton configuration featuring the Manufacture 1967 MC movement. Hand-hammered bridges are shaped as Roman numerals, and 142 components are packed into the distorted case. Limited to 150 pieces, it is the Privé series’ most technically involved piece to date, and a new Cartier Privé La Collection sub-line launches alongside, in yellow gold.
Myst de Cartier
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The Myst de Cartier is a clasp-free jewellery watch, a discreet nod to time keeping. It is structured like a strand of talismans threaded onto a flexible bracelet, and worn by sliding it over the wrist. The square case sits at the centre, flanked by alternating pavé and lacquered modules underlining the strong tradition of metiers d’art within the manufacture. On the yellow gold version, 634 brilliant-cut diamonds are paired with hand-painted black lacquer lines, applied one by one at the Maison des Métiers d’Art in Switzerland; 30 hours of gem-setting create the bead-set bracelet’s depth and perspective. A white gold version dispenses with the lacquer entirely, covering the same structure in 986 diamonds for a monochrome, shape-shifting effect.
Roadster
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The Roadster has long been a hidden gem from the Maison. This year it returns to the Cartier line-up 23 years after its original 2002 debut. The bold, rounded design language is intact, featuring a trapezoidal case, a large tactile conical crown and a speedometer-inspired striated dial. It is still framed by a bezel with corner rivets, but proportions, finishes, and ergonomics have been reworked by a team of over 100 artisans. New versions will be available in steel, yellow gold, and two-tone gold and steel, in medium and large sizes. Movements are the Manufacture 1847 MC (large) and 1899 MC (medium), both self-winding. The redesigned bracelet uses a QuickSwitch system for strap interchangeability, with polished and brushed surface contrasts sharpening the overall form.
Santos-Dumont
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The Santos-Dumont takes its most substantial update in years, centred on a new large model in yellow gold, fitted with what appears to be a soft-feeling 15-row mesh bracelet with 394 links. Each link is 1.15 mm thick and is a construction that references the Maison’s flexible gold bracelets of the 1920s. The standout dial is a gilt version in polished obsidian, a volcanic stone from Mexico sliced to 0.3 mm. Tiny trapped air bubbles give each piece a unique iridescent quality, and the gold-and-black combination is timeless. The movement is the hand-wound Manufacture 430 MC, and two further LM versions offer silvered satin-finish dials in yellow gold and platinum, with two new models in yellow gold and two-tone rounding out the range.
Tortue
(Image credit: Cartier)
The Tortue can perhaps be classed as the connoisseur’s choice, and its shape has been in continuous production since 1912. This time, it arrives at Watches & Wonders in a substantially reworked form, with the Manufacture’s design studio having softened and enlarged the proportions. The traditional guilloché dial has been replaced with an embossed relief motif, and the traditional rail track has been simplified into a row of dots, a detail drawn from an archive piece from 1922. Five versions in yellow gold, white gold, and rose gold, with and without diamonds, span small and mini sizes. A platinum LM model takes the baguette-cut diamond treatment, with 46 stones on the bezel and a guilloché dial. An evocative Tortue Panthère Métiers d’Art creation is also offered: a champlevé enamel piece extending the panther motif from dial to case middle, limited to 100 pieces each in white and yellow gold.
Santos Chronograph
(Image credit: Cartier)
The Santos de Cartier Chronograph is a revision of the 2020 model, scaled up to a large 47.5 x 39.8 mm case and fitted with a reworked dial featuring alternating satin and sunray finishes. Three sub-dials carry seconds at 6, minutes at 3, and hours at 9, with gold or rhodium rings framing each counter. The automatic 1904-CH MC movement offers 47 hours of power reserve and water resistance to 100 metres. Available in steel, two-tone, and yellow gold, each version ships with a second strap and uses both the SmartLink and QuickSwitch systems for quick adjustment and interchangeability.
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