Cartier Reintroduces the Revamped Pebble Watch

Photo: SJX Watches

The Cartier Pebble, which had been greatly anticipated after unintentional sightings on social media, has finally been formally unveiled. It extends the jeweler’s tradition of retro reissues, such as the Tank Cintree 150th Anniversary of 2020.

Cartier is frequently regarded designer of shaped devices. Some of the numerous shapes include square, oval, cushion-shaped, bell-shaped, asymmetrical, and barrel-shaped. The only restriction on the tale is how much it can fit on the wrist. Cartier’s London department produced some of the company’s most recognizable and innovative designs, as opposed to its headquarters in Paris.

The reprint, formerly referred to as the Pebble-Shaped Watch, was created by Cartier London just several years following the Crash. It has a limited run of 150 pieces to commemorate its 50th anniversary. Although less well-known than its sibling’s Dali-inspired counterpart, the Pebble is a classic Cartier style with a squared dial tilted 45° from the horizontal and a flawlessly rounded casing.

Photo: SJX Watches

Initial Impressions

The Pebble is an instantly recognizable design, despite not being very well recognized prior to last year’s highest bidding result for a classic model. Although it is modest per today’s standards at 36 millimeters, it sticks out for its crisp lines and unique but aesthetically pleasant design. 

Furthermore, the replica does a great job of staying true to the original. Moreover, from a distance, they look practically similar. Although expensive, the Pebble edition is alluring to admirers of Cartier’s retro and eccentric flair.

Photo: SJX Watches

The Pebble is 50 percent more valuable compared to the Tank Cintree 150th, which has an undoubtedly finer, slimmer caliber. Besides, it is twice as costly as the Santos-Dumont polished casing in gold with a similar movement. With regard to artistry, the Pebble is excellent, yet the cost is too high.

Also referred to as the “baseball”

Due to its design, which resembles the playing ground of this sport, enthusiasts have given the watch the name “Baseball.”

The Pebble is a member of the line of unusually shaped timepieces made by Cartier London during the late 1960s and early 1970s when the company was still autonomous of its equivalents in Paris and New York. It emerged 5 years after the Crash which had its notable premiere in 1967.

Although the model is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in 2022, the release of the reproduction is perfectly planned for yet another purpose. A genuine edition from 1972 was recently auctioned at Phillips for more than CHF400,000. A couple of weeks later, a 1975 model went for a little less at Bonhams.

It is composed of 18k yellow gold and keeps the circular and squared shapes combined into one design, but with a few minor alterations in dimensions. Its diameter has increased by just 0.5mm to 36mm. The dial resembles an eggshell in color compared to the company’s traditional Roman numbers and blued sword-like hands. This gives the variant a subtle retro feel and a cozier appearance.

Photo: Hodinkee

Just six of the big Pebbles, which had a diameter of roughly 36 millimeters like the reprint, were made, as per Bonhams. One was made of white gold featuring a black dial, and the other five were made of yellow gold having a cream dial. However, not every Pebble was precisely the same. Whereas the one sold at Bonhams includes exposed lugs, resulting in the term “turtle,” others had their lugs just below the casing like the reprint.

The reissue’s form and dimensions are almost identical to the iconic original’s modernized variant. Adding the Cartier “hidden hallmark” at 7 o’clock and replacing the initial Cartier’s italic logo below twelve o’clock with the current logo are two more noticeable changes.

The watch’s main significant improvement is replacing the initial mechanical system by Jaeger-LeCoultre with Cartier’s ultra-thin, automated Caliber 430MC movement. Also known as cal. 430P movement, produced by Piaget, it is Cartier’s favorite caliber for tiny manual-wind timepieces such as the Santos-Dumont polished casing. Moreover, it is only 2.1milimeter tall, has about a 40-hour power reserve, and operates at a frequency of 3Hz.

Photo: SJX Watches

Lastly, the light brown calf leather band and 18-carat yellow golden pin clasp give the timepiece a wonderfully elegant vintage feel.