Comparing Generations of Cartier Panthere Watches The sleek panther has been a symbol of the
House of Cartier since 1914 when the brand created an exquisite Panther themed bracelet with onyx and diamonds. From then on, this large feline has been featured in a range of Cartier products including jewelry, leather goods, accessories, and of course, watches. While the Cartier Panthere watch does not feature the animal per se, it is named after the brand’s favorite beast and is certainly inspired by it. Cartier made big news last year when the
Maison revived their popular Cartier Panthere watch. An icon of the 1980s and 1990s, the Panthere was one of the most glamorous watches to own during its era. And given the Cartier Panthere’s elegant style and iconic silhouette, it’s not a surprise that the brand decided to bring back this popular luxury watch for a new generation to enjoy. As a reissue of the original Cartier Panthere watch, the new pieces are very similar to their predecessors with just a few differences to note.
So with that in mind, let’s compare the new Cartier Panthere watch with the old Cartier Panthere models to determine exactly what has changed.
Original Cartier Panthere Watch Design
Cartier first introduced the Panthere watch in 1983, during a decade of decadence. As such, the watch was designed to be a glitzy enough to capture the attention of the moneyed crowd with plenty of celebrities opting to wear the glamorous Cartier piece. The Cartier Panthere watch is characterized by its square case with elongated lugs and square bezel with eight exposed screws. There’s also the signature Cartier-esque dial with Roman numerals, blue sword-shaped hands, and rail-track minute detail at the center. And let’s not forget the famous blue sapphire-set winding crown found on most Cartier timepieces. However, since square watches are a favorite form of the Cartier brand, the most distinct design feature of the Panthere watch is undoubtedly its link bracelet. Reminiscent of a piece of fine jewelry, the Panthere bracelet is the watch’s calling card. Fashioned to resemble a layer of bricks, the rounded links come together in a beautiful way and blankets one’s wrist in a graceful and supple manner. Comfortable to wear, attractive to look at, and luxurious through and through—the bracelet is everything we’ve come to expect from Cartier. Securing the Panthere bracelet is a concealed deployant clasp. Thirty years ago, the Cartier Panthere was marketed to both men and women. In fact, there is some gorgeous photography of actor Pierce Brosnan and musician Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones rocking their men’s Cartier Panthere watches floating around on the Internet. Consequently, Cartier made the Panthere watch available in a range of sizes including mini, small, medium, and large to suit all genders, sizes, and tastes. The larger men’s models also sometimes featured a date window for added practicality. During the eighties, the Cartier Panthere watch was originally created in either yellow gold or two-tone yellow gold and stainless steel, later including lavish white gold models to the line. In 1991, Cartier added an all-steel version of the Panthere, making the watch more accessible to a larger audience. Of course, since Cartier is first and foremost a jeweler, there were several diamond editions of the Panthere timepiece available as well. To the dismay of many, Cartier eventually discontinued the Panthere watch in the early 2000s. But luckily, not for long; and that brings us to the modern era Cartier Panthere.
New Cartier Panthere Watch
The new Cartier Panthere watches have retained all of the design hallmarks from the original models. They too have square cases, square bezels with exposed screws, and the famous brick-lay bracelet. However, the new watches are presently only available in two sizes—the Small Panthere with a 22mm case and the Medium Panthere with a 27mm case. As a result, the new Panthere is currently exclusively positioned as a ladies’ watch. Much like the original Panthere watch collections, the pieces come in yellow gold, white gold, two-tone in yellow gold and steel, and of course all steel. However, new to the collection are rose gold Panthere watches including a very avant-garde rose gold version with black lacquer detailing. Furthermore, as a direct homage to the panther beast, there’s also an ultra-lavish white gold and diamond version adorned with animal-like spots in black lacquer. Also similar to preceding models, the new Panthere watches all run on quartz movements for optimal accuracy and practicality. At this time, Cartier only offers time-only models, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they eventually added date versions at a later stage. Perhaps we’ll see some new models launched at the upcoming SIHH 2018 luxury watch fair taking place later this month.
Opting for a Pre-Owned Cartier Panthere Watch
Since the new Cartier Panthere timepieces are essentially reissues of the older generation, savvy shoppers should turn their attention to the secondary market to
purchase a pre-owned Cartier Panthere watch. The new versions come with pretty hefty price tags ranging from $4,600 for the small all-steel model to over $141,000 for select high-jewelry options. Naturally, prices in the secondary market for pre-owned Cartier Panthere watches are significantly less with steel models and two-tone versions
selling for around $2,000 while full yellow gold editions
can be found for just above $7,000. Compared to the sky-high prices of the current Panthere watches, these are fantastic deals indeed to own one of the most celebrated women’s watch designs from Cartier. If you’d like to own or perhaps gift (don’t forget, Valentine’s Day will be here sooner than you think) this gorgeous Cartier ladies’ watch, then
browse our collection of pre-owned Cartier Panthere watch to find the right one for you or view our
complete collection of Cartier preowned watches.
Cartier Panthere Collection Cartier Collection
