2009 Editors’ Choice Award Winner: Fragrance
Roadster by Cartier
by Cartier Parfums
Roadster by Cartier, designed by the team at Cartier Parfums, borrows several elements from the automobile world besides its name.
The bottle lies on its side. “The bottle’s curved glass walls echo the profile of a roadster car,” says Philippe Nazaret, assistant vice president, Cartier North America’s fragrance division. The striking, heavyweight zamac cap resembles the shape of a car’s taillight. “The lines on the cap’s collar resemble the grills on a radiator,” says Nazaret.
CPC Packaging awards panelist Gail Boyé, vice president, global product development, mark, described the bottle as “beautiful” and says that it feels great when held in the hand. “It obviously conveys quality and lives up to the reputation of the Cartier brand name.”
Panelist Rochelle Bloom, president of The Fragrance Foundation, feels that the team at Cartier stayed true to its vision when designing the bottle. “Cartier succeeded in conveying the right message. This bottle says ‘strong, solid, and masculine.’”
Panelist Jon Dinapoli, creative director, Coty Prestige, agrees. “It is a very masculine design and extremely reminiscent of a roadster car. There was great attention paid to detail, and it shows in the design.”
Cartier’s original symbol of luxury, its Roadster watch, was also inspired by the automobile world. The watch’s winder was also an inspiration for the look of the fragrance bottle’s cap.
Boyé commends the fact that the watch and fragrance are linked through design. “I appreciate the ideation behind the design. It tells a story and ties in with the company’s heritage. These are hallmarks of long-standing, successful brands.”
Jackel Cosmetics Ltd. produced the complex cap and its stovepipe-style collar. Technical expertise was critical in order to ensure that the vertical grooves on the collar were accurate and sharp.
“The cap was handcrafted and hand-polished,” says Thomas Diezinger, sales director, Jackel France. The cap comprises two nickel-plated parts crimped together. A black PP liner, overmolded with SEBS soft plastic, was crimped inside the overcap. Part of this liner is visible at the bottom of the cap, below the cap’s collar.
“Three tracks inside the PP liner help to guide the cap when it opens or closes. These tracks have recessed ends to allow the cap to close with a ‘click’ for a more high-end feel,” explains Diezinger.
The bottle’s dispenser collar has three brass ribs that fit into the tracks on the inside of the cap. As the cap twists closed, these ribs slide along the track until they click into place in the track’s recesses.
According to Diezinger, tight tolerances for the ribs had to be monitored carefully or the cap would wobble when twisted closed. “We had to be very accurate in the positioning of the ribs. If they were too low, the cap wouldn’t close properly. If they were too high, there would have been a gap between the cap and the bottle’s collar,” says Diezinger.
The effort that went into creating this cap is apparent. “The cap says ‘quality’ all the way,” says Bloom. “I like the top-notch locking mechanism,” she adds.
The elegant silver carton was decorated with graphics matching those on the bottle. “The use of uncoated paperboard for the carton is a subtle design element that nicely counterbalances the sleekness of the bottle,” says Dinapoli.