Cartier Panthère PM

The small Panthère in steel, reference 1320, is the quartz jewellery watch Cartier launched in 1983 and the piece that came to define a decade of Parisian wrist style. A 22 mm case, an integrated link bracelet and a crown set with a blue cabochon mark the late design vocabulary Robert Hocq shaped for the maison, and the all-steel execution remains the most recognisable of the family. The Panthère PM (Petite Model) is the configuration that closed the gap between fine jewellery and a serious Cartier wristwatch, and it has returned to the centre of collector attention in recent years.

This particular example presents a cream dial with painted Roman numerals and matching hands, framed by a smooth polished bezel and the signature blue cabochon crown. The integrated steel bracelet closes on a Cartier folding deployant clasp in polished steel, sized for a slim wrist and sitting flush with the case exactly as the Panthère was conceived to do. The cream tone shows a faint unevenness, the gentle mellowing of a watch that was worn rather than stored.

The case is in honest condition for an authentic 1980s Panthère, with the soft contours and proportions intact. The bracelet links carry light surface marks from years of daily wear, the kind of patina that confirms a life on the wrist rather than a life in a drawer. Powered by the Cartier calibre 157 quartz movement behind a sapphire crystal, the watch is accompanied by its original Cartier box.