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 · Cle
Cartier Cle 40 mm Ice Ceramic
Reference 12424OR.26
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Cartier
- Collection
- Cle
- Model
- Cartier Cle 40 mm Ice Ceramic
- Reference number
- 12424OR.26
- Year / era
- 1980 · 1980s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Flyback chronograph
- Movement
- In-house automatic, chronometer certified
- Case material
- Ceramic
- Dial type
- Ice blue
- Strap / bracelet
- Integrated steel bracelet
- Water resistance
- 100 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 14.1 mm
- Case material
- Ceramic
- Bezel
- Unidirectional ceramic 60-minute
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Ice blue
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- Integrated steel bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 100 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 16D — In-house automatic, chronometer certified
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 55 hours
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- Flyback chronograph
- Functions
- Chronograph, tachymeter, date
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1980 – 1990
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
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 Cle 40 mm Ice Ceramic sits within Cartier's Cle line, introduced in 1980. It carries the house codes established since 1847 — ceramic case, ice blue dial and in-house automatic, chronometer certified — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- 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 movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
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.