I can’t bury the lead for a moment longer so let’s just spell it out: the movement (the gear train, balance, mainspring, plates, and bridges) is contained within the winding rotor. Or more accurately, it is the winding rotor, which appears to float in the transparent center of the luxury replica watch. Wow doesn’t begin to describe the first reaction to this watch, but it’s a good place to start.
With a history of creating both mysterious clocks (beginning all the way back in 1912) and mysterious watches, perfect fake Cartier’s Masse Mystérieuse is part of a long line of horologically and mechanically creative inventions that were inspired from an actual magician’s invention from the 1830s, Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin.
But the cheap replica Rotonde de Cartier Masse Mystérieuse is a long way from the origins of the concept even if it achieves the results in thematically similar ways. The concept has always been a popular way to showcase watchmaking prowess, and this model is the best hand played to date. The dial has a ring of classic Roman numerals and a traditional railroad minute track just inside the numerals.
Dangling from the center with no apparent connection, the entire movement, which is shaped like a winding rotor, drives the hands while it whirls around. Like every other “mysterious” clock and watch, there are hidden parts of the mechanism in that ring around under the edge, but knowing how it works doesn’t make it appear any less magical. That is the incredible nature of any high quality fake Cartier Mystérieuse timepiece: they are made so well and with time-tested methods that they are basically mechanical examples of the sleight-of-hand principle of misdirection.
It also helps that it just looks good, and I mean classy good. The essence of AAA quality super clone Cartier was always as a jeweler and its timepieces always feature a cabochon in the crown, usually a sapphire or ruby. The cheap copy Cartier Masse Mystérieuse uses the aforementioned ruby and goes big with a rather tall specimen, providing the main pop of color on the watch. The only other color comes from the 43 jewels in the movement, though not all of these are visible.
While I love a truly elegant copy watch, I’m still here for the mechanics, and this watch doesn’t leave me wanting. Caliber 9801 MC is a first in the industry while being a natural progression of the Mystérieuse concept since it builds on established methods and incorporates new ideas. Most fans may not have realized it could be possible to have an entire movement self-contained within the mass that winds itself.
Obviously, that is also not how the best 1:1 fake Masse Mystérieuse works, but that is the best part of the illusion. Using a sapphire crystal disk as the support structure for the centrally fixed gear, the movement can freely pivot around that point and use its own weight to slowly wind the mainspring. That takes one part of the winding mechanism outside of the movement so that it can actually function and not end up a failed experiment with perpetual motion.
The Cartier Masse Mystérieuse replica for sale from Cartier amplifies that feeling thanks to the apparent lack of any connection to the case while putting most of the mechanics on full display. It may be a time-only watch with no complications or tourbillons, but it might be one of the most impressive accomplishments (from an emotional standpoint) to date.
I am always curious what ideas the brand will explore in the Mystérieuse line in the future but after this release now I’m wondering where else the brand can go. It feels like the top super clone Cartier Masse Mystérieuse might have been the Mystérieuse equivalent of Everest.
And that is a mountain only very few can climb.
While we wrap our heads around the Cartier Masse Mystérieuse copy online, let’s break it down!
