The New Cartier Baignoire Watch

Cartier has unveiled the latest ladies Baignoire watch, one of its most well known watch designs for women. The Baignoire watch line was originally launched in the 1920’s is easily recognizable with its interpretation of the classic tonneau case. the Baignoire go its name was inspired after the shape of the watch’s case which is similar to the rim of a bathtub.

This year, Cartier is introducing the Baignoire Grand Modele watch which is a larger version of the original. The watch features a brushed 18 carat gold case and crown set with a sapphire jewel cabochon. The solid silver dial is finished with a sunburst guilloche and blued hands which indicate the Roman numeral hour markers. The watch is available with a beige satin strap with an inner or a gold bracelet with or without diamonds. The strap is completed with an 18 carat gold signed buckle. The watch is powered by an ultra-thin manually wound movement, the Piaget 430C.

The New Cartier King Size Chronograph Pasha Seatimer

The New King Sized Chronograph Pasha Seatimer is an interesting addition to Cartier's Seatimer Collection. The dial design is unique to anything else they currently have in their collection. Instead of the standard circle chronograph dial design, the counters are set in a three oval pattern one of which is a slightly smaller oval counter at 6 o'clock. Where the non-chronograph Seatimer in my opinion is a very good looking sporty watch, the new chronograph version seems almost like two separate watches mixed together. The dial seems a bit out of place to me, but perhaps it will grow on me in time as many new designs have before.

The new Seatimer has a mechanical movement with automatic winding Cartier calibre 8630, which is the thinnest automatic movement in the world. The dial comes in black or white and displays hours, minutes, seconds and chronograph functions as well as date in a small window between 4 and 5 o'clock. The watch is protected by a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. It has a unidirectional rotating bezel in steel or 18k rose/yellow gold with engraved Arabic numerals. The larger king-size case is 42.5 mm, which is 2mm larger than the standard Seatimer case. It is water-resistant to 100 meters.

The bracelet for the Stainless steel version of the Chronograph Pasha Seatimer is made from steel encased in black rubber, or an all steel bracelet both of which have a steel security clasp. The gold versions have an 18k gold bracelet with black central links and a 18k gold triple safety deployant buckle.

The New Cartier Ballon Bleu Tourbillon

One of the most intriguing watches created by Cartier thus far is the new Ballon Bleu Tourbillon. The Ballon Bleu Tourbillon is Cartier's first that incorporates the brand's new 9452MC tourbillon movement, which bears the Geneva Seal hallmark. The 9452MC movement is mechanical with manual winding, it is comprised of 142 hand-finished parts and 19 jewels and has a power reserve is 50 hours.

The Cartier Ballon Bleu gets its name from the sapphire cabochon crown which is incorporated into its rounded case and this version is no exception. It is crafted from 18K pink gold, and it measures 46mm across which makes it larger than even the Grand Modele Ballon Bleu which is only 42mm in diameter. The watch also features sapphire crystal on the face as well as the transparent case-back of the watch. The dial has a three-dimensional guilloche silvered look with sun-ray open-worked grid. The watch has Roman numeral markers and sword-shaped, blued-steel hands. The tourbillon carriage is positioned in an untraditional way so that appears to float freely above the dial adding to the already impressive design..