Cartier’s suite of Animal Jewellery watches unveiled at Watches & Wonders 2024 includes the striking Pebble “Tigre”.

Described by its maker as inspired by “an imaginary encounter between zebra and crocodile that… is both graphic and organic”, the watch is essentially a Pebble with a double-layer bezel decorated in lacquer and precious stones. Watch aficionados will be disappointed that it is a traditional jewellery watch – more jewellery than watch – and the movement inside is quartz.

Initial thoughts

Thematically, the new Pebble is similar to the Crash Tigre with its abstract, animal-patterned cased. Though it’s in keeping with Cartier’s tradition of animal-inspired jewellery watches, the new Pebble is nonetheless surprising since it’s a striking departure from the traditional Pebble.

The watch is slightly larger than the conventional Pebble, particularly in terms of thickness, but it’s still relatively compact. But it has instant presence thanks to the extravagant decoration.

It’s unfortunately that the movement is quartz, but that is typical for most of Cartier’s high jewellery watches. This will limit its appeal for mechanical watch enthusiasts, but fans of Cartier’s jewelled form watches will appreciate the design and execution.

The Cartier Crash Tigre

Wild things

The Animal Jewellery collection of 2024 is made up of watches modelled on animals that are a recurring theme in Cartier jewellery, namely panthers, crocodiles, and tigers. Most of the watches are figurative and literal, with cases shaped like a panther’s head or a resting crocodile.

The Pebble Tigre, on the other hand, is abstract. The bezel is inspired by the tail of a crocodile, with the black lacquered stripes – all applied by hand – modelled on a zebra’s hide.

Though similar to the standard Pebble with its round silhouette and lozenge-shaped dial, the Tigre looks different in profile due to the layer bezel formed by the coils of the crocodile’s tail. This allows for several levels of gemstones and lacquered stripes on the bezel that give the case a three-dimensional aspect.

The model is offered in three versions, all sharing the same design with black lacquered stripes but decorated differently (pictured from left to right below).

The first is in pink gold set with rubies and diamonds. The second is in white gold with tsavorite garnets and diamonds. And the last is in yellow gold set with black spinels and diamonds, and fitted with a polished onyx dial.

Key facts and price

Cartier Animal Jewellery Watch “Pebble”
Ref. CRHPI01615 (Yellow gold, black spinels, black lacquer, diamonds)
Ref. CRHPI01616 (Rose gold, rubies, black lacquer, diamonds)
Ref. CRHPI01617 (White gold, tsavorite garnets, black lacquer, diamonds)

Diameter: mm
Height: mm
Material: 18k gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: Not available

Movement: Quartz
Functions: Hours and minutes

Strap: Black calfskin strap, additional strap in alligator

Limited edition:
Availability: Only at Cartier boutiques and retailers
Price:

For more information, visit Cartier.com.