The Cartier Baignoire is simply an elegant timepiece that is iconic and important within the heritage of the Parisian House of Luxury Goods. With the 1950’s being a prolific period for innovative design and aesthetics, the Baignoire was one of them. Featuring an oval shaped case, the appeal of the case can be linked with the shape of the bathtub, hence its name.

The Baignoire Allongée was launched shortly after, featuring an elongated oval shaped case with a rather pointy apex on the top and bottom of the case. Extremely successful and well-received, the model would go on to inspire arguably Cartier’s most important timepiece, the Crash.

The present Cartier Baignoire Allongée in 18K white gold from circa 2001 belongs to a modern iteration of the classic timepiece with not too many changes. Boasting a rather similar case and dial design as the original example from the late 1950s, the modern iteration features an upgraded cal. 060MC. With an extremely delightful textured silvered dial featuring its classic style of stretched Roman numerals, the precisely paired blued hands go hand in hand with its signature blue sapphire-tipped crown. Presented in excellent overall condition and accompanied by the original certificate stamped Cartier Hong Kong International airport and box, the original owner of the watch probably did not even plan to acquire the timepiece at first, though arriving a couple of hours before departure enabled him to see the beautiful timepiece in the showcase and had to take him home.