The Roadster is back, headlight and all
By Sam Okafor, London · · Cartier
Every so often a design comes back and you realise you'd missed it without knowing. The Cartier Roadster is one of those.
The original arrived in the early 2000s and quietly left the catalogue some years later. It was a tonneau shaped like the front of a sports car, with a dial that read like a speedometer and a date magnifier that sat over the crystal like a headlight. It was a little camp, which is exactly why it was good. Cartier has brought it back with most of that intact: the tonneau, the striated circular dial, Roman numerals, a chemin de fer minute track, the conical crown, four rivets on the bezel, and the secret signature hidden in the VII.
There are two sizes now. The Large is 47 by 38 mm and 10.06 mm thick, with Cartier's automatic 1847 MC. The Medium is 42.5 by 34.9 mm and 9.7 mm thick, with the 1899 MC. Both are rated to 100 m. Steel, gold and two-tone versions exist, and the bracelet swaps to a strap without tools via QuickSwitch. In steel it starts at about $10,200 for the Large.
What interests me is how well it sits next to the rest of the range. The Santos is architecture, all screws and flat planes. The Tank is graphic design. The Roadster is industrial design in the old sense, closer to a 1960s Italian dashboard than to a building. Cartier now has a shape for each of those moods, which is a strong position for a brand that people still think of as a jeweller.
The bracelet has been redrawn with shorter links and alternating brushed and polished surfaces. I suspect that will make it far more comfortable than the original, which was handsome and slightly stiff.
My problem is the magnifier. I know it's the point. I know without it you'd lose the headlight. But a cyclops on a dial this composed is like a dimmer switch fitted to a perfect concrete wall: functional, honest, and out of keeping with everything around it. I'd have liked a version without it, even as an option.
The Medium is the one I'd choose. The Large, at 47 mm tall, is a lot of tonneau for most wrists, and the smaller case keeps the car reference without shouting it.
Sam Okafor is a pen name of The Watch Quest editorial team. Opinions are based on the published specs, the brand's own information and the watch's reputation, not a long-term test.