Cartier Pasha

The Cartier Pasha launched in 1985 as Cartier's round sport-watch answer to a market that was newly sport-luxury-coded by the Royal Oak (1972) and Nautilus (1976). The brief came from Gerald Genta, the same designer behind both the Royal Oak and the Nautilus; the watch was nominally inspired by an earlier 1932 Cartier custom-built for the Pasha of Marrakesh who needed a waterproof watch for swimming in his palace pool.

The defining design element is the chained crown protector: a small chain links the screwed-down crown to a sapphire-cabochon screw-cap that screws down to seal the case while remaining tethered to the crown so it can't be lost. This eccentric solution, plus the square-on-round dial layout (a square minute track inscribed inside a round dial) gave the Pasha a visual signature unlike any other sport watch.

The Pasha ran in steady production from 1985 through the early 2010s in multiple sizes (35mm, 38mm, 42mm) and configurations (chronograph, GMT, simple time/date). The line went into hibernation around 2014-2015 as Cartier focused on the Santos relaunch and Drive de Cartier. 2020 saw the surprise Pasha de Cartier revival at Watches and Wonders 2020, fully redesigned with refined proportions, the Cal. 1847 MC automatic, and a clever quick-strap-change system that became a generation-defining detail.

The current Pasha line spans the 35mm (women's), 41mm (volume reference), and chronograph variants, all with the in-house Cal. 1847 MC automatic, 42-hour reserve. Available in steel, rose gold, and yellow gold; multiple dial colors include silver opaline, blue, green sunburst, and grey. Retail spans ~€7,200 (steel 41mm) to ~€32,000 (rose gold 41mm). Allocation is light; available at retail at most Cartier ADs. The reference for buyers who want a Cartier sport watch but don't want a Santos.