Much like a lot of Cartier’s catalog, the Cartier Pasha has a long and storied history. According to legend, the Pasha was supposedly conceived by Louis Cartier for The Pasha of Marrakesh, Thami El Glaoui, in the early 1930s. As the story goes, The Pasha ordered a one-of-a-kind gold watch that could keep pace with his active lifestyle and boasted a level of water resistance that was uncommon at the time. Cartier’s answer was the Pasha; a large timepiece with a screw-down crown cover and metal grid that protected its dial. During the Quartz Crisis, Cartier reached out to Gerald Genta in 1985, of Royal Oak and Nautilus fame, to design a precious metal luxury sports watch that could capitalize on the growing market for such watches, like the gold Submariner at the time. Genta’s design was the Cartier Pasha as we know it today. It is a sporty timepiece with a rotating bezel, a unique screw-down crown cover, a clean dial, and its now-iconic Vendome lugs. The variant we have here is the Pasha ref. 2397, with a textured silver dial and a more luxurious design language than the Pasha was initially known for. Featuring a stunning guilloche engraved pattern across its surface, this example’s silver dial is quite exquisite, and it is perfectly matched by diamond-set grille that sits across its sapphire crystal. Perfectly sized at 32mm in diameter and boasting the Pasha’s atypical design topped off with a plain gold bezel that lacks a rotating function, this watch is a perfect example of everything that makes Cartier so luxurious.

An exceptional combination of Cartier's design prowess, the Pasha's history, and Cartier's general capacity as a fine watchmaker and jeweler, the ref. 2397's diamond-set grill and 18kt yellow gold construction combine to create a true feast for the eyes.