The driving concept behind the Cartier ID One is to create a watch which does not require regulation or adjustment either during assembly or indeed at any time during the life of the watch. Currently, there are several basic points at which every mechanical watch has to be adjusted during the assembly process, most notably the hairspring, the balance, and the pallet fork.

With the ID One Concept Watch, Cartier believes it has come up with innovations that address each of these challenges.

Firstly, Cartier has deployed what it calls a Zerodur hairspring. Zerodur is the name of a proprietary ceramic/glass material that is completely unaffected by magnetic fields and is also highly dimensionally and elastically stable across a wide range of temperatures.

Secondly, Cartier has implemented ID One's balance wheel, escape wheel and lever in Carbon Crystal. Carbon Crystal is an extremely hard, diamond-like material which effectively enables the escapement to be oil free.

Thirdly, the ID One has a shock resistant escapement cage, which allows the escapement cage to shift both laterally and vertically to absorb force, thus protecting the entire escapement from shock.

Lastly, the watch has a Niobium-Titanium case. Niobium-titanium is a highly wear resistant (and hypoallergenic) alloy that has its own unique shock absorption properties that give it an advantage over a material such as steel.