Cartier manages to fuse a unique touch of French sophistication with a very liberal attitude towards design. Cartier’s love affair with fascinating shaped watches has lasted for a century and you’d be hard pressed to find a straightforward round watch chez la Maison. Unusual shapes, like the square Santos, the rectangular Tank, the barrel-shaped Tortue, or even the weird and wild 1967 Crash watch inspired by a Baignoire Allongée model that was purportedly mangled and melted in a car crash, have been and still are very much an identity trait of the brand.