What is Maillon?

“Maillon” means links in French and has been used in Cartier jewellery for decades. For Cartier, links, straps and chains are a key motif — search Links and Chains Collection on its official website and you will find an assortment of Tank rings, Santos de Cartier bracelets and Maillon Panthère necklaces. Watch savants will immediately pick up on the fact that these jewellery pieces were born from watches first, inspired by the bracelets and links of the iconic watches that bear the same name, turned into embellishments you could wear not only on the wrist, but on the hands, neck and ears.

But the Maillon de Cartier is slightly different. Maillon was first used in the line of Panthère de Cartier jewellery, before we now see the design language transformed into a new line of wristwatches.

From Jewellery to Watch

Cartier says it themselves: the Maillon de Cartier is firstly a jewel designed by the Cartier watchmaking studios. Taking the form of the Maillon Panthère jewellery, Cartier gave the bracelet a little twist, forming an integrated bracelet style, like a braided rope that wraps itself around the wrist in a bold yet elegant manner.

“We wanted to deconstruct the bracelet and transcend its design through a volume approach. Emotion is in the movement and tension,” Marie-Laure Cérède, Timepiece Creation Director at Cartier, provides in the press release.

Form watches have always been Cartier’s strong suit, and it was their utmost ambition to structure the watch in a cohesive way, from the form of its links to its faceted case. The chain links absolutely integrate seamlessly to the hexagonally shaped bezel. The case, 16mm x 17mm with a thickness of 6.8mm, is entirely mirror polished.

The Maillon de Cartier is released in six versions, with the 18K yellow gold watch, with a single sapphire cabochon set on the crown, being the base model offering. A level up is the 18K pink gold and the 18K white gold versions, which come with a bezel set with brilliant-cut diamonds. There is also an 18K pink gold version with the case and bracelet set with brilliant-cut diamonds, and an extravagant version in 18K white gold with the case, dial and bracelet set with pavé diamonds.