Cartier has focused on the craftsmanship that sustains its watchmaking universe with “More Than An Hour”, its campaign for the 2026 edition of Watches and Wonders. The piece, created by Publicis Luxe, shifts the focus from the final result to the manufacturing process, showing the gestures, materials and techniques involved in the creation of some of the house’s most representative watches.
The brand vindicates the work of the master craftsmen who have contributed to building its identity
The campaign is comprised of a main film focusing on six iconic Cartier watches. Instead of relying solely on the aspirational aura of the finished product, the brand claims the work of the master craftsmen who have contributed to building its identity since its founding in 1847. The approach emphasizes that the value of a Cartier watch does not lie only in noble materials or mechanical precision; also in the accumulation of manual knowledge, patience and detail that make it possible.
The spot, produced by Prodigious Paris, shows meticulously placed diamonds, precisely painted applications of color and internal mechanisms treated almost like miniature architecture. The camera approaches the hands that intervene in each phase of the process and turns the detail into a story: settings, finishes, gears and surfaces appear as part of the same idea of excellence. The campaign thus builds a contemporary reading of luxury, less focused on ostentation and more linked to expertise and dedication to know-how.
The photographic part has been developed by Julien Thomas Hamon, who provides an architectural look at the pieces. His images focus on the mechanisms and construction elements of the watches, with a polished aesthetic that maintains Cartier’s heritage imagery without giving up a current visual treatment. The combination of film and photography allows the brand to work on a deep narrative: each watch appears as a design object, but also as the result of a chain of technical and human decisions.
The action is part of Watches and Wonders 2026, held last April, where Cartier shared space with some of the most relevant watch brands in the world. The campaign continues the line of communication developed by the house around the event, after last year he presented his pieces in an exhibition-inspired staging. On this occasion, Cartier reduces the scenographic emphasis and concentrates it on the interior of the product and on what is not normally seen, but that determines its value.
With “More Than An Hour”, Cartier reinforces an idea that is especially relevant for luxury brands in the current context: differentiation increasingly depends on the cultural and technical legitimacy that sustains it.
