The well-designed fake Clé de Cartier Mysterious Hour takes everything the Clé is, and turns it up to 11. While it may not have been blindingly obvious at first, what made the Clé really stand out was its balanced, beautifully proportioned look – and the Clé de Cartier Mysterious Hour further evolves on that by playing with the rule of thirds and other basic (but difficult-to-master) rules of design and geometrics. Long, sloping curves are met with two perfect circles – the larger and the smaller dials – and before it appears to all be melting off your wrist, Cartier’s trademark bold Roman numerals and the rectangular cabochon in the crown add some strength to the overall appearance.
As its name implies, the cheap copy Cartier Clé de Cartier Mysterious Hour features Cartier’s “mysterious hours” indication which may have been around for a long time, but somehow, here, just utterly fails to show its age. The funny thing is that when compared to the – rather numerous – other pieces from the brand which comprised this funky time indication, this may be the first piece where it feels and looks as though it was an integral component of the design, and not a gimmick that stands above every other part.
The Cartier 9981 MC manufacture movement that drives the mysterious hours comprises a relatively reasonable total of 158 parts and is just 4.61mm thick. Two days of power reserve is paired with a modern 4Hz frequency, keeping things up to pace with the basic requirements of the time. The movement is fully exposed via the large, sapphire case back so that one can admire this unusual, arched arrangement of wheels, gears, bridges – and the balance wheel capped off with a Cartier “C” rate adjust. All the details of the Swiss made replica watches UK are worth to appreciate.