This is the second generation Tortue Monopoussoir, with a 36mm case.

For many years, the Cartier Tortue played second fiddle to its more popular siblings, the Tank and Santos. It occupied a place in between the dependable icons (in the form of the rectangular watches), and the more outlandish and avant-garde designs such as the Crash.

Following the explosion of the Cartier Collection Privée in the last few years, however, the Tortue has quickly become the poster boy for the new neo-vintage movement, led by none other than the Monopoussoir chronograph. It's powered by a movement designed by THA Ebauche, a seemingly unknown movement maker. Look behind the scenes, however, and you'll quickly recognise what the biggest names in independent watchmaking today were doing in the 1990s and early 2000s. The company set up by FP Journe, Vianney Halter, and Denis Flageollet (of De Bethune) was a fairly short-lived partnership, but created one of the most important watches from the neo-vintage era.

CARTIER

Described by King Edward VII as 'the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers', Cartier is synonymous with perhaps more iconic designs than any other manufacturer. Sitting at the intersection between fine watchmaking and art, Cartier combines decades of heritage with an ability to create original and attractive watch designs.

From its birth in the 19th Century up to today, Cartier has earned a well-deserved reputation for being a manufacture that has successfully transformed the humble wristwatch from a soldier's tool into a true object of desire.