Trying On the Cartier Calibre aka Never Meet Your Heroes

     Ever since I discovered the Cartier Calibre (check it out here) earlier this year, I had been drawn to it, especially the pink gold/steel model with two-tone metal bracelet and white dial.  I even wrote an earlier blog post about my attraction to it (read that post here).  I had resigned myself to the idea that I would have to go to Houston or Dallas just to try it on.  That all changed with a casual visit to the Sak's Fifth Avenue store up in north Austin.  They sell Cartiers!  It was a shock to be in a store that sells high-end watches as well as handbags and shoes.  However, this pleasant discovery soon became tempered by disappointment after I tried the Calibre on. 

I'll make it simple: it looks way too damn big!  It's a good looking watch, but its white dial and the way its bezel flows into the crystal add up to make a 42 mm diameter watch look absolutely massive.  It's like Eva Mendes' face atop the body of an NFL player.

However, it was not all bad news at Sak's.  I got to try on a beautiful Cartier that I had forgotten all about.  Keep scrolling down to find out which one it was (hint: both President Clinton and Usher have one).

                      This watch looks like a wrist wrecking monster on my 7-1/4" wrist.  Way too butch.  Makes me think I should have no neck, a fake tan and a tendency to call everyone "bro" just to wear it.

                      Even the sapphire set into the crown is too big.  Makes me think of how American cars are designed - every element is oversized.

                      This is a nice color combo.

 

                      The black dial helps disguise some of the enormity of the dial and looks good with the stainless steel case.

     Despite the disappointingly hulking appearance of the Calibre, I was pleasantly surprised by the Ballon Bleu in stainless steel and yellow gold (Ref.: W69009Z3).  This, too, is a 42 mm watch, but its proportions are much more visually subdued and tasteful than those of the Calibre.  It is a very round watch (ballon meaning ball or balloon in French), but its attractive two-tone bracelet, large Roman numerals, contained and fluted crown and opaline dial with guilloche finish are more than enough to distract me from that.  This watch has a charming, old-fashioned appearance that makes it look like an heirloom piece already. 

Notice the subtle "C" shape formed by the indentation of the date window.  It makes for a pleasant-looking assymetry.

 

                      I could get used to seeing that.

                      The Ballon Bleu even appears round when viewed from the side, thanks to its curved synthetic sapphire crystal and rounded caseback.  I don't think I've ever seen a watch that looks like this one.  I like it, even if it does look a little thick (13 mm).

     If you are as smitten with the Cartier Ballon Bleu as I am, you can click here to learn more about it.