Cartier. A very fine and extremely rare platinum and 18K gold square wristwatch with Vendome-type lugs, platinum link bracelet and 18K gold deployant clasp

Of exceptional rarity and made of the most noble of metals – platinum, the present watch encapsulates all that is best from Cartier’s golden age of the 1920s. To wear this classic Cartier wristwatch is to recall the supreme elegance of that era yet proclaiming a still modern beauty. The harmonious and very sleek bracelet testifies to Cartier’s creative determination to establish the ideal relationship between watch and strap.
The square form Cartier watch with platinum case and gold back was established around 1915. It is thought that Cartier’s revolutionary clean and modern wristwatch designs at this early period were inspired by the de Stijl art movement, in particular the painter Piet Mondrian and the beauty of mathematics and geometry. The Cartier “white” models, in particular platinum, were the most exclusive of all with each type being made in extremely small numbers.

European Watch & Clock Co.
In the early 1920s Cartier formed a joint company with Edward Jaeger (of Jaeger-LeCoultre) to make movements specifically for Cartier watches and clocks, the company was named the European Watch & Clock Company Inc. and has become the most associated with vintage Cartier watches. Collectors particularly esteem a Cartier watch with the now familiar signature on the movement 'European Watch & Clock Co. Inc.'.

An almost identical watch is illustrated in: White Cartier Bianco, Baer & Bosch, pl. 70.