Cartier's Retrograde Hands Carp clock from 1925
French jeweler Cartier is bringing its history of watchmaking to Shanghai with an exhibit at the Shanghai Power Station of Art July 19 to October 12.
Organized to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Franco-Chinese relations, the exhibit will display more than 150 historical pieces from Cartier’s timepiece catalog. Hosting an event that focuses on the horology component of Cartier’s portfolio will likely do well in China, as many regional consumers are interested in collecting and gifting luxury timepieces.
Shanghai time
As of press time, Cartier has yet to share the event information with followers on social media, but the jeweler did incorporate the Shanghai watchmaking event into its digital magazine, Rouge Cartier’s 36th issue in an upcoming exhibit section (see story).
The “Cartier Art Time” exhibition, curated by Tokujin Yoshioka and sponsored by the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, will include 28 stations for visitors to experience. Each station will examine Cartier’s history of watchmaking through 180 timepieces that reflect Eastern and Western culture and art in terms of horology.
Poster for the Carter Time Art exhibit
Visitors will journey through the exhibit learning about Cartier’s craftsmanship, essence, complex movements and innovation through multimedia imaging, live demonstrations conducted by watchmakers and craftsman and heritage displays. Also, the exhibit will explore evolutions in horology styles, aesthetics and design to create a rare opportunity to see first hand the craft’s development and cultural impact.
In addition to historical pieces from its archives, Cartier will display contemporary designs such as its revolutionary timepieces, Cartier ID One and Cartier ID Two. These timepieces represent the “forward-thinking and visionary concept watches that demonstrate the potential future of watchmaking,” according an event summary by Cartier.
Cartier has held similar events that explore its heritage and defining role in the fine jewelry industry. During the winter Cartier held an event at the Grand Palais in Paris to display pieces that represented its legacy from its founding through the mid-1970s to tout its role in the history of fine jewelry as artwork (see story).