The famous British architect, Norman Foster curated poster of exhibition ‘Cartier in Motion’.
From a design perspective, Foster and his practice explore Cartier’s extraordinary creativity in watchmaking craftsmanship. And its links with the brand’s glorious history dating back over to a century.
Looking back at the history of development over the last century from the Eiffel Tower
Cartier in Motion includes over 170 eye-opening exhibits from the Cartier Collection. Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, and Principality of Monaco.
Except fine jewelry and watches, there are also epoch-making objects and models including Eiffel Tower, Lunar Excursion Module and aircraft.
One of the most remarkable exhibits, the Eiffel Tower model, is a replica of the Eiffel Tower built in 1889.
The model adds elegance of Paris to the exhibition. And it showcases the timeless charm of classics by tying visitors closer to history.
Norman Foster took the Eiffel Tower model seriously and appointed its long-term partner the RJ Models as model maker.
Very little reference data is available due to limitations of technology and awareness at that time. However, the model exactly reproduces the Eiffel Tower built in 1889.
Drawings of the Eiffel Tower
RJ Models found a few original pictures by searching through historical data. Then, RJ Models appointed top designers to draft up to 4GB of 3D model drawings of the original Eiffel Tower over a month.
Drawings of the Eiffel Tower in 3D
Finding appropriate material is a task more tedious and arduous than drafting.
The Eiffel Tower’s iron framework integrates 18,038 precisely crafted metal components, with a total weight exceeding 7,300 metric tons.
A 250-member team spent 17 months assembling the copper replica, drilling 7 million holes and setting 2.5 million rivets.
Unlike standard PMMA models, copper required specialized techniques to prevent oxidation and color shifts during humidity-sensitive assembly.
The whole model is made of copper pieces at Foster’s request, it is much more difficult to splice, connect, polish and install than PMMA architectural models.
Moreover, humidity and temperature will affected the color of copper pieces during the splicing process.
Delicate components of the upper part
Delicate components of the waistline
RJ Models deoxidized, spliced, connected, and polished the copper components with meticulous care.
Neil Vandersteen of Foster + Partners worked closely with RJ Models to finalize display protocols for the Shenzhen exhibition.”
Finally, RJ Models assembled a team of 10 specialists to make a 1:110 scale model in 100 days.
The copper model (1115 x 1115 x 2838 mm) faithfully replicates the original Eiffel Tower constructed in 1889.
This beautiful replica allows visitors to appreciate the magnificence of the real Eiffel Tower.
The replica immerses visitors in the Eiffel Tower’s grandeur, evoking a time-travel experience, and is acclaimed as one of the exhibition’s most exceptional pieces.
Norman Foster himself lauded the model’s contribution to Cartier in Motion, noting how its bespoke materials and golden lustre embody Cartier’s legacy of elegance, much like the enduring Eiffel Tower.”
