The elusive Pebble takes you back to the hallmarks of the sixties
In the Swinging Sixties, London was the epicenter of creativity and influence that echoed across the world. It didn’t matter what you were into—if you wanted to be at the forefront of it all, you went to London. That was no different for Jean-Jacques Cartier when his then-East London workshop that housed goldsmiths, watchmakers, and artisans started creating wristwatches independent from their studio in Rue de la Paix.
Under his tutelage, the London atelier became the hotbed of Cartier’s distinct stylistic expression and contemporary detailing that set it apart from their Paris and New York salons. Cartier’s Bond Street has created sought-after timepieces such as the Maxi Oval, the Octagon, and the psychedelic Crash, which has seen various iterations in limited pieces since its launch. With vintage timepieces experiencing a renaissance, it’s only fitting for Cartier to bring back from the archives one of its elusive creations, the Pebble.
The first model of the Pebble, sometimes called “Baseball” in the US, was first introduced in 1972 with only six examples ever made. Five of those watches were created in yellow gold and one in white gold that features a unique lozenge dial with a calf leather strap and was meant to be a precursor to another English-made piece, the Crash.
Fifty years after its launch, Cartier has revamped the classic watch with a modern touch. The new-fashioned iteration of the Pebble remains faithful to the 1972 design with a square eggshell-colored dial set within a 36mm round 18-carat gold case that is nicely embellished with Cartier’s signature Roman numerals, brown calf leather strap, and blued sword-shaped hands giving it a 60s vintage feel.
For this new version of their iconic timepiece, Cartier has gone back to their roots by using their own Manufacture 430 MC movement—the flattest hand-wound movement they’ve ever made—in order to modernize this classic watch for today’s generation with only 150 individually-numbered pieces available across the globe.
As the clamor for vintage designs grows steadily, Cartier has been reissuing their historic designs which include the Pasha Calendrier Perpétuel and the 100th-anniversary reedition of the Tank Cintree in limited quantities.
To learn more, visit Cartier’s official website.
