I know how time works. It’s something that you never have enough of if forgotten. And becomes mundanely tedious if watched or observed. Its laws govern us all. Close, far, past and future – everyone is judged under the same hammer.
Cartier In Motion, opening at The Design Museum and curated by the architect Norman Foster alongside the museum’s director Deyan Sudjic, looks back at Cartier’s deep history of innovation and how it’s changed the world we live in today. It focusses on the house’s love affair with beautiful objects and exquisite craftsmanship, looking at Cartier’s heritage and the connection to pioneers of through the ages, showing the evolution of Cartier’s signature time pieces – Santos-Dumont, Tortue, Tonneau and Tank.
Louis Cartier’s development of the modern day wristwatch was began with its presentation to aviators Alberto Santos-Dumont in 1904, the strap making pocket watches obsolete. The exhibition contains some incredible early Cartier pieces – from the Crash collection to transparent “mystery clocks”, which seem to hold the table clock’s arms suspended like magic in the rock crystal. The craftsmanship shies you away from the far less beautiful display of a smart phone. Now where did we put our credit cards?
The Cartier in Motion exhibition takes place 25 May – 28 July at the Design Museum in London
