Shaped watches are something of a specialty at Cartier, with such memorable pieces as the Tank, Ballon Bleu, Baignoire, Tortue, Santos, and of course the one with the most unique shape of all, Crash. The new Hypnose comes in a familiar shape – oval, like the Baignoire – but with a surprise. More accurately, the case of the Hypnose is a double oval, one inside of another, and they do not touch.

Lined with sparkling diamonds, they are like two rings of fire surrounding the watch’s dial. Intensifying the optical illusion, the largest diamonds have been set at the top and bottom of the outer bezel, gradually decreasing in size as they reach the flanks, and then increasing again gradually till they reach the opposite point.

But of course, the two bezels are not truly disconnected. Precious pink or white gold or rich, black lacquer fills the void where the diamonds do not touch. At just a glance, the dial appears airborne, until the eye parses the immense detail and craftsmanship – just another example of Cartier’s creativity at play.

Two alluring dial variations set out to charm you. One is the familiar Cartier dial with Roman numerals, flinqué decoration, and blued steel sword-shaped hands. The other is simply awash with more diamonds, paired with sword shaped hands in the same colour as the case. Cartier also offers the Hypnose in two sizes, small (30mm X 26.2mm) and large (37.8mm X 33.3mm), with one fully set variation paired with a gem-set bracelet. All of them come with quartz movements.

This article was first published in World of Watches: Jewellery.