The delicately balanced Rings of Saturn took Cartier craftsmen more than 600 hours of work to achieve. Photo courtesy Cartier.

BY LESLIE JORDAN CLARY

Saturn, with its mysterious rings, is a charismatic planet—and now Cartier has designed the Rings of Saturn décor visible hour watch, a delicately balanced timepiece that evokes the rings of Saturn. Unveiled at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Genève, this unique watch contrasts white and black. The black comes from a deeply colored carved jade, while the white uses shagreen paving — a random patterning of 562 brilliant-cut and 11 rose-cut diamonds. The watch’s crystal has been faceted to hold the caliber 101, the smallest manually wound mechanical movement in the world.

—March 2016