Ballon Bleu de Cartier 46 Flying Tourbillon White Gold / Diamond

In Context

At 46 mm it is a large watch — well above this catalogue’s 40 mm median, and enough to dominate a narrow wrist. At 12.9 mm it is a tall case, and it will catch on a cuff. The case back is open, so the movement is visible without taking the watch apart, and the sapphire crystal will resist everything short of deliberate abuse. Rated to 30 m, it is protected against rain and splashes and nothing beyond that.

The movement is hand-wound, so winding it becomes part of the day rather than something the watch does for you. 50 hours of reserve is enough to set it down on Friday evening and find it still running on Monday. At 21,600 vph the seconds hand advances 6 times a second, the slower and more audible rate of an older design.

HPI00586 stands on its own in this catalogue — no other reference here shares its base number. It pairs a paved dial with a white gold case. Introduced in 2007. Beyond the time it carries a tourbillon.

Hand-wound, Geneva Seal certified movement with tourbillon escapement. 142 parts including 19 jewels.

8 other watches in the library run the Cartier 9452 MC.

Cartier

Ballon Bleu de Cartier 46 Flying Tourbillon White Gold / Diamond / Bracelet

HPI00683 · 46 mm

Cartier

Rotonde de Cartier Flying Tourbillon Pink Gold / Diamond / Silver

HPI00593 · 40 mm

Cartier

Rotonde de Cartier Flying Tourbillon Pink Gold / Silver

W1556215 · 40 mm

Cartier

Ballon Bleu de Cartier 39 Flying Tourbillon Pink Gold / Grey

W6920104 · 39 mm