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 sizeable masculine timepiece with a sporty bezel, a unique screw-down crown cover, a clean dial, and its now-iconic Vendome lugs. The variant we have here is the dual-time GMT ref. 2388 with the rarer of two dial variants, the grey that was launched in 2000 to celebrate the new millennium. Featuring a blend of stunning guilloche engraving patterns across its surface, this example’s grey dial is quite exquisite, and it is nicely matched by a black alligator leather strap that is fastened by Cartier’s signature folding buckle. Perfectly sized at 38mm in diameter and boasting the Pasha’s atypical design, this example is a perfect example of everything that makes Cartier so special.

Watch is in very good condition. Watch shows some marks that have been polished on the bezel and case. Some of the enameling on the bezel appears to have been reapplied. Dial near-mint condition. Leather strap is worn and cracked.

A wonderfully attractive watch that pulls on the heartstrings of Cartier collectors, the Pasha breaks from aesthetic norms and celebrates Cartier's willingness to do new things. Furthermore, with its practical complications, this example perfectly fits the Pasha's original design brief from The Pasha of Marrakesh, Thami El Glaoui, as a practical watch that could do anything he needed it to.