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 · Panthère
Cartier Panthère 44 mm Salmon 18k
Reference 98496OR.51
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Cartier
- Collection
- Panthère
- Model
- Cartier Panthère 44 mm Salmon 18k
- Reference number
- 98496OR.51
- Year / era
- 1977 · 1970s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Perpetual calendar
- Movement
- In-house automatic chronograph
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Dial type
- Salmon
- Strap / bracelet
- NATO textile strap
- Water resistance
- 150 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 44 mm
- Case thickness
- 10.2 mm
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Bezel
- Unidirectional ceramic 60-minute
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Salmon
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- NATO textile strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 150 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 21D — In-house automatic chronograph
- Movement type
- Manual-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 70 hours
- Number of jewels
- 21 jewels
- Complications
- Perpetual calendar
- Functions
- Annual calendar, moon phase
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1977 – 1987
- 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 Panthère 44 mm Salmon 18k sits within Cartier's Panthère line, introduced in 1977. It carries the house codes established since 1847 — 18k rose gold case, salmon dial and in-house automatic chronograph — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
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.