The Cartier Privé Collection: Reimagining Classic Watches

Before Cartier Privé, There Was CPCP

The Collection Privée Cartier Paris line, often called CPCP watches by collectors, ran for a decade, between 1998 and 2008. It was born during the revival back to mechanical watchmaking after a few decades of the quartz crisis. The point of the CPCP was to be the premier division of Cartier watches; it was a combination of some of the brand’s most celebrated watch designs with high-end mechanical movements made by the likes of Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, Girard-Perregaux, and others.

The result was a glorious assortment of vintage Cartier watch reissues that not only ran on superb movements but were also produced in low quantities. Given that, it comes as no surprise that Collection Privée Cartier Paris watches are highly collectible in today’s market. A simple way to identify a CPCP Cartier watch is that it will include “Cartier Paris” on the dial (instead of just “Cartier).

Cartier replaced the Collection Privée Cartier Paris with the Cartier Fine Watchmaking Collection in 2008, which offered plenty of high-complication models including minute repeaters, tourbillons, perpetual calendars, and the like. Some of favorites included the Rontonde de Cartier Flying Tourbillon watches.

Cartier Fine Watchmaking came to an end in 2018 and it’s now the Cartier Privé that carries on the torch with modern interpretations of some of Cartier’s most classic timepieces.

Cartier Privé Collection

Since its inception, the Cartier Privé collection has welcomed plenty of new models, all inspired by vintage Cartier references. One of the newest ones is the Privé Tank Normale watches launched in 2023 but based on the very first Cartier Tank watch from 1917. There are four limited edition Cartier Privé Tank Normale watches: two in yellow gold, two in platinum, each offered on matching bracelets or alligator leather straps.

Other Cartier Privé Tank models include the Tank Asymétrique, Tank Chinoise, and Tanke Cintrée. Remeber, Cartier has made dozens of different Tank watches over the last century, so there’s a generous archives to draw from. Aside from the Tank, other Privé models include the bell-shaped Cloche de Cartier, Crash, and Tonneau.

Geared towards collections but beloved by Cartier fans everywhere, the success of the Privé line so far makes us hopeful that it will be a lasting Cartier collection.

Pre-Owned Cartier Watches at Gray & Sons

Gray and Sons is proud to offer a wide selection of pre-owned Cartier watches including an assortment of Tank, Santos, Panthere, Ballon Bleu, and Privé models. If you’re in the market for a secondhand Cartier timepiece, browse our collection to find your perfect piece. Alternatively, if you want to sell your used Cartier watch, visit our sister site Sell Us Your Jewelry for the best cash offer in the market.