Cartier

Panthère de Cartier Medium (Silver opaline Dial)

Name: Cartier Panthère de Cartier Medium (Silver opaline Dial)
Brand: Cartier
SKU: WJPN0066
Availability: InStock

Ref. WJPN0066

On request

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Case36 x 27mm 18k yellow gold

DialSilver opaline, Roman numerals

MovementQuartz

BraceletYellow gold

PapersBox and Card

The Panthère de Cartier is the 1983 bracelet watch that dresses like jewellery and reads like a watch, its brick links draping rather than sitting. Cartier returned it unchanged in 2017 because collectors would accept nothing else.

A Panthère de Cartier Medium in 36 x 27mm 18k yellow gold, silver opaline, Roman numerals on the wrist. Quartz movement inside.

Fun fact: The Panthère bracelet is built from tiny linked plates so it drapes like jewellery rather than sitting rigid. Cartier dropped the model in the 1990s and brought it back unchanged in 2017 after buyers refused to stop asking.

Panthère de Cartier, medium, yellow gold with diamond-set bezel

ReferenceWJPN0066

Case27mm x 36mm, 6mm thick, 18k yellow gold, diamond-set bezel, medium model, 30m water resistant

MovementQuartz

Introduced1983, reissued 2017

Why this one matters

The Panthère arrived in 1983 as a flatter, softer reading of the Santos: the same screwed bezel logic, scaled down and polished until it behaved like jewellery. The bracelet does much of the work. Five rows of short polished links, articulated closely enough that the whole thing pours over the wrist rather than sitting on it.

It stayed in the catalogue until around 2004, by which point tastes had moved larger. Cartier brought it back in 2017 at close to the original proportions, still quartz, in mini, small and medium, across steel, two tone, solid gold and diamond-set versions. This reference sits in that last group.

The movement

Quartz, and to our eye that is the right choice here: a mechanical calibre would add height to a case that works because it is thin. Cartier does not publish a calibre number for the Panthère, so we do not print one. In practice quartz means better timekeeping than a mechanical movement of this size would give, nothing to wind if it sits unworn, and a battery change at intervals set by Cartier service. Ask for the seals to be re-tested afterwards.

On the wrist

The medium case is 27mm wide and 36mm long, which reads small by current taste. It wears like a bracelet: flat, close, quiet under a sleeve. Sizing matters more here than on a strap watch, because a loose Panthère slides round the wrist and the links work against each other. Check the fit on the wrist rather than trusting the size on paper.

Questions we are asked about this reference

Does quartz hurt resale?

It narrows the collector end of the market, so the Panthère does not track mechanical Cartier. Demand from people buying it to wear has held up in our own experience, which is as far as we would go on the point. We price these as watches to wear, not as an investment.

Can links be added?

Links for current production sizes can usually be ordered through Cartier; ask for a quote, as gold links are expensive. Availability differs between current and discontinued references, so check before assuming. Ask how many links a bracelet has lost before agreeing a price.

Is the medium a women's watch?

By current convention 27mm reads as a women's size, and it is worn by both. It is a small watch by current taste, and on a larger wrist the proportion of case to bracelet starts to look tight. Try it on before deciding.

Panthère de Cartier

A bracelet that happens to tell the time, revived in 2017

Panthère first appeared in 1983 and Cartier brought it back in 2017 with the original idea intact: a watch that wears like a bracelet. The supple linked bracelet is the whole point, lying flat and moving with the wrist. The square case carries a screwed bezel, Roman numerals, a rail-track minute ring, blued steel sword hands and a cabochon-set crown, in steel, yellow, white or pink gold and two-tone, alongside diamond-set versions. Quartz, as the original was.

supple bracelet-like links

square case with screwed bezel

Roman numerals

rail-track minute ring

Sizes in the family

mini 25x19, small 30x22 and medium 36.5x26.7 mm, plus large

Who it suits

Suits a buyer who wants jewellery first and a watch second: the mini and small sit close on smaller wrists, while the medium reads as a normal daily watch.

See every Panthère de Cartier we have