In Conversation With: Cyrille Vigneron of Cartier
Despite his impressive track record as Cartier’s CEO — he’s been the man responsible for the brand’s turnaround since 2016 — Cyrille Vigneron is charmingly understated and humble about his accomplishments, preferring to let the results of the brand he steers steadfastly speak for themselves. But what is undeniable is that shortly after his coming on board, all of a sudden, Cartier started to make exactly the right watches. Which is to say timepieces that perfectly expressed the maison’s unrivaled ability to exude elegance and style in a way that was at once a graceful homage to the past, yet perfectly at home in contemporary culture. Vigneron perfectly reconnected the aristocratic leanings of Cartier with its tradition of design audacity, eschewing an overreliance on technical watchmaking for its own sake, and once again stressing that at Cartier, technicality serves aesthetics. With Vigneron at the helm, Cartier has year on year created some of the strongest offerings in the watch world. How can I demonstrate this with total sincerity? In 2018, two years into his leadership, I became a Cartier client for the first time in my life. His homage to the legendary Tank Cintrée was so perfectly executed that I could not resist and bought my very first Cartier. With incredible tributes to three of Cartier’s icons, the Asymétrique, the Pasha and the Santos, this year is no exception. It was a pleasure to interview Vigneron just as the full magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic was upon us and we had been in lockdown for several weeks. The result was one of the most enjoyable and uplifting conversations I’ve had with a watch CEO, so much so that I felt compelled to transcribe it to print.
Cyrille, it’s wonderful to see you. What part of the world are you in, sir?
I’m in Geneva, staying in confinement. For us, it’s a six-week lockdown but the Switzerland lockdown is rather mild, meaning you can go to the office if you wish. As far as social distancing is concerned, you are allowed to go for a walk or
