The Ellipse was born in 1973 as part of the original Louis Cartier Collection.
After the purchase of the Paris branch by Robert Hocq, the watchmaking division was transferred from Paris to La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland and the new leadership team, including Alain Dominique-Perrin, initiated several exciting commercial activities, including the Louis Cartier Collection
Twelve designs, of which the Baignoire, the Normale, the Santos-Dumont, and of course the Tank Louis were launched as part of this ambitious effort to breath new life into the soul of Cartier. It can be difficult to imagine today but amidst the post-war economic boom of France, Les Trentes Glorieuses, Cartier was struggling as new trends, such as quartz movements and even jeans, made the classic designs of Cartier unfashionable.
