Cartier Baignoire

The evocatively named Baignoire is a cult Cartier object. The story began in 1912, when Louis Cartier took the traditional round watch shape and elongated it. His stylistic research culminated in two straight, parallel lines joined by two curves, which formed the shape of a bathtub (baignoire in French) – hence its name.
The aesthetics would continue to evolve until eventually adopting its familiar slightly curved oval shape in the late 1950s, its dial stamped with Roman or Arabic numerals bordered by gold gadroons. This constituted the first stage of a creative process. Entirely reworked by Cartier’s design studio, today the Baignoire watch asserts its own essence. Its exacting finishes strike a balance between pure design and linear sophistication, paying homage to the cult 1958 model.
Its design remains unchanged, yet the piece itself has evolved to offer a narrower bracelet and redesigned Roman numerals on a silvered sand-blasted background. The case back is seamlessly integrated into the case with water resistance up to 30 m offering full conformance with modern quality standards.