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.

Inspired by some of Genta’s earlier work from his eponymous brand, the Cartier Pasha Golf is a timepiece designed for use on the golf course, as its name suggests. By using four separate apertures at 2, 4, 8, and 10 o’clock in conjunction with corresponding individually colored cabochon-capped pushers, the Pasha Golf can keep the count of four people’s golf score. Originally offered with a quartz or automatic movement, the example we have here is the rarer automatic variant, as discoverable through the Pasha Golf’s sapphire crystal caseback. In addition, this example also sports the two-tone blue and cream dial exclusive to the 1980s variants of the Pasha Golf, with later 1990s examples featuring solid silver dials. Measuring 38mm in diameter, this luxurious 18kt yellow gold beauty is a wonderfully unique timepiece that plays on Cartier’s historic design legacy and Gerald Genta’s own desire to create unusual timepieces that breaks from the mold and excites in new ways – just as the Pasha Golf does.

Watch is in excellent to near-mint condition. Superficial surface wear on case. Strap is worn. The golf stroke counting mechanism is working properly at time of auction, but we are uncertain of its service history.

Please Note: Due to CITES considerations, if the watch is to be shipped outside of the USA, the exotic skin strap will have to be removed.