Ballon Bleu de Cartier 42 Automatic Pink Gold / Silver / Bracelet

In Context

At 42.1 mm it is sized to the current mainstream: 40 mm is the median across every watch measured in this catalogue. At 13 mm it is a tall case, and it will catch on a cuff. The case back is closed, so the movement stays out of sight, 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 winds itself from the motion of your wrist. 42 hours of reserve carries it overnight, but not through a weekend in a drawer. At 28,800 vph the seconds hand advances 8 times a second.

WGBB0016 stands on its own in this catalogue — no other reference here shares its base number. It pairs a silver guilloche dial with a pink gold case. Introduced in 2007.

The 049 is Cartier's ETA 2892-A2 with a date, the automatic of the 42 mm Ballon Bleu and the Tank Anglaise. It powers 21 watches in this library. The 2892 is the thin automatic the [2892 piece](/blog/the-eta-2892) describes, and Cartier's version is finished and regulated by Cartier at 25.6 mm across and 3.6 mm high, with 21 jewels, a 42-hour reserve and a beat of 28,800 vph. It was the movement of most of Cartier's round and rectangular automatics before the in-house calibers of 2010 onward. In the library it powers 13 [Ballon Bleu](/brands/cartier/ballon-blue-de-cartier) references at 42.1 mm and 8 [Tank](/brands/cartier/tank) references, the Anglaise at 29.8 mm and 31 mm and the Must XL, in steel, yellow gold and two-tone. The [049 No Date](/calibers/cartier-049-no-date) is the same movement without its calendar in the 36 mm Ballon Bleu, and the [1904-PS MC](/calibers/cartier-1904-ps-mc) the in-house movement that succeeded it.

20 other watches in the library run the Cartier 049.

Cartier

Ballon Bleu de Cartier 42 Automatic Yellow Gold / Silver

W6900551 · 42.1 mm

Cartier

Ballon Bleu de Cartier 42 Automatic Stainless Steel / Silver

W69016Z4 · 42.1 mm

Cartier

Ballon Bleu de Cartier 42 Automatic Yellow Gold / Silver / Bracelet

W69005Z2 · 42.1 mm

Cartier

Ballon Bleu de Cartier 42 Automatic Stainless Steel / Silver / Bracelet

W69012Z4 · 42.1 mm