Calibre de Cartier Multiple Time Zones

The French jeweler Cartier slowly, but steadily builds itself a reputation as a serious watchmaking brand, which is capable of developing and producing movements that are not just complex, but also innovative. The 2011 Calibre de Cartier Multiple Time Zone (ref. W7100026) is among their latest masterpieces.

Mechanism

As the company stated in its press release, the Multiple Time Zones sports the Cartier Caliber 9909 MC self-winding movement that takes the concept of a “GMT watch” a step or two higher.

The movement displays not only local and home time, but adds to the picture a “jet lag display” that tells the time difference between the two time zones, and a multiple time zone (MTZ) indicator, which is located not on the dial, but on the left side of the chunky case.

Dial

The idea behind the positioning of the MTZ display is simple: to make the multi-layered dial look less cluttered. However, I suppose that using this thing with the watch secured on the wrist will be rather difficult.

Pressing one of the small pushers, you can also make adjustments for summer or daylight saving time.

Surprisingly, if you don’t take into account the lack of luminous substance even on the main indicators, the dial here looks easy to read and is, well, legible enough as soon as you read the freaking manual and get used to the whole display.

Perhaps, the only thing that I miss here is a central seconds hand since it would not only animate this monumental device but would also inform its owner instantly in case the timekeeper runs out of power.

Case

The movement itself is not large (according to official specs, it is only 25.58 in diameter and 6.68 mm in height,) but the case, which is available both in white and yellow gold, looks bulky. Mainly, thanks to the lateral magnifier at 9 o’clock that eats precious millimeters and makes the Calibre de Cartier Multiple Time Zone look almost as huge as a professional diving tool.

Measuring 45 millimeters wide, the Multiple Time Zones also takes a great deal of space on a normal wrist, although its relatively short integrated lugs somehow compensate for the excessively large diameter making the timepiece more or less wearable by an average man.

Frankly, I don’t know why Cartier’s watchmaking division decided to make this (otherwise absolutely beautiful) timekeeper so huge. As I have already mentioned, neither dimensions of the mechanism, nor the layout of the dial required making such a monstrosity. Well, perhaps someone in the marketing department decided that the trend of constant supersizing of luxury watches will continue at least until the end of this decade. Well, if so, I truly hope that they are wrong: these things get larger year after year.

On the other hand, there is a good chance that the MTZ was designed with die-hard collectors in mind who, immediately after buying the trinket, would put it into a (presumably huge) safe in an extremely well-guarded bank or some other facility of this sort.

Well, there is a good thing about its size, too. As you can see, the nut-shaped setting/winding crown with an inevitable blue cabochon is large enough for even persons with the thickest fingers to easily manipulate the timepiece.