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 · Ballon Bleu
Cartier Ballon Bleu 42 mm Slate 18k
Reference 83380OR.96
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Cartier
- Collection
- Ballon Bleu
- Model
- Cartier Ballon Bleu 42 mm Slate 18k
- Reference number
- 83380OR.96
- Year / era
- 1960 · 1960s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Minute repeater
- Movement
- In-house automatic chronograph
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Dial type
- Slate grey
- Strap / bracelet
- Alligator leather with folding clasp
- Water resistance
- 200 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 42 mm
- Case thickness
- 11.3 mm
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Bezel
- Unidirectional ceramic 60-minute
- Crystal
- Anti-reflective sapphire, double-domed
- Dial
- Slate grey
- Hands
- Skeletonised sword hands, white luminescent
- Indexes
- Diamond-set hour markers
- Bracelet / strap
- Alligator leather with folding clasp
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 200 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 28D — In-house automatic chronograph
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 45 hours
- Number of jewels
- 37 jewels
- Complications
- Minute repeater
- Functions
- Dive time, running seconds
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1960 – 1970
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Values have stabilised after the 2022 correction; condition and box-and-papers drive the premium.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Cartier Ballon Bleu 42 mm Slate 18k sits within Cartier's Ballon Bleu line, introduced in 1960. It carries the house codes established since 1847 — 18k white gold case, slate grey dial and in-house automatic chronograph — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
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.