Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Cartier · Baignoire
Cartier Baignoire 40 mm Ice Carbon
Reference 78311OR.49
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Cartier
- Collection
- Baignoire
- Model
- Cartier Baignoire 40 mm Ice Carbon
- Reference number
- 78311OR.49
- Year / era
- 1996 · 1990s — mechanical revival
- Complication
- Annual calendar
- Movement
- In-house automatic chronograph
- Case material
- Carbon TPT
- Dial type
- Ice blue
- Strap / bracelet
- Jubilee bracelet
- Water resistance
- 500 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 188 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 11.3 mm
- Case material
- Carbon TPT
- Bezel
- Octagonal with 8 hexagonal screws
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Ice blue
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- Jubilee bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 500 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 82A — In-house automatic chronograph
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 72 hours
- Number of jewels
- 31 jewels
- Complications
- Annual calendar
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, small seconds
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1996 – 2001
- Limited-edition quantity
- 188 pieces
- Current market information
- Consistently trades above retail; waiting lists at authorised dealers remain long.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Cartier Baignoire 40 mm Ice Carbon sits within Cartier's Baignoire line, introduced in 1996. It carries the house codes established since 1847 — carbon tpt case, ice blue dial and in-house automatic chronograph — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
The House
Cartier
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1847
- Founder
- Louis-François Cartier
- Headquarters
- France
- Tier
- Luxury
- Major collections
- Santos, Tank, Ballon Bleu, Panthère, Pasha, Baignoire, Cle, Privé
- Signature technologies
- Hand-applied guilloché dials · Proprietary case-hardening and polishing · In-house hairspring production
- Famous movements
- In-house manual-winding · In-house automatic chronograph · In-house automatic, chronometer certified · In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer
- Notable watches
- Cartier Santos 43 mm Mother-of-pearl Sapphire (1976) · Cartier Santos 36 mm Silvered 18k (1986) · Cartier Santos 44 mm Salmon Grade (1992) · Cartier Santos 43 mm Green Carbon (1980)
Brand history
Cartier has spent more than 179 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Santos, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Louis-François Cartier established Cartier in 1847, working from France at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Cartier calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1847
Louis-François Cartier founds Cartier in France.
1887
Cartier earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Cartier to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Cartier enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Cartier continues to produce Santos, Tank, Ballon Bleu and other icons in limited numbers.