In 1912, Louis Cartier—the grandson of the jewelry house’s founder, Louis-François, who had died eight years prior—introduced a small tweak with a radical impact: an oval watch silhouette. By 1973, that elongated design had evolved into the current Cartier Baignoire and earned a cult following for its rejection of the circular standard. Its name, which translates to “bathtub,” played no small role in the timepiece’s soft power triumph. Bathtubs and watches were once deemed incongruous, too.
When Cartier reintroduced the Baignoire in 2023, it went from an insider’s favorite to a widely sought-after piece, boosted in part by its ability to be effortlessly stacked with other Cartier jewelry. This November, the house released yet another version with two designs: an 18k white gold iteration and a mini design in 18k yellow gold, sprinkled with “à pois” diamonds.
The former is almost completely covered in diamonds (647, to be exact, which take more than eight hours to set). The mini—with its inviting façade and curved sinews—is lined with 29 brilliant-cut diamonds on the face, while 46 more of the precious stones are sprinkled along the bangle. Underneath the sparkling outer layer lies formidable craftsmanship—diamond settings carved flush with the metal before placement.
The mechanics are equally precise. A quartz movement powers sword-shaped steel hands, ticking against a dial protected by curved sapphire glass. The clasp is an exercise in subtlety, integrated into the bangle at six o’clock for a seamless finish. Like its namesake, the Baignoire is no necessity—it’s a delight.
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