Visual Description
The 78094 is the Baignoire oval in 18k gold, about 22 mm wide and 31.5 mm long, curved to sit on the wrist, with a sapphire cabochon in the crown and a back held by four screws. The dial is white or silvered, printed with black Roman numerals under blued steel sword hands, and some dials are signed Paris.
Most examples are worn on a leather strap with an 18k gold Cartier deployant clasp or buckle. Artcurial has sold one on an integrated yellow gold bracelet with Panthère links and a champagne dial.
Reference Significance
The 78094 is a Baignoire identified by its reference number. The London ovals of the same decades, the London Baignoire and the Ref. 7672, are identified by English hallmarks and run on LeCoultre movements; the 78094 carries its reference in the case number and runs on the Cartier Cal. 78-1, which Antiquorum and Artcurial also catalog as the 2512.
Its footprint matches the quartz Ref. 1954 of the 1990s and 2000s, an 18k yellow gold oval of about 22.5 × 31 mm, so the movement and the number on the case tell the two apart.
Historical Context
Dated examples run from about 1970, the date Artcurial gives one on a gold bracelet, to about 1991, the latest Sotheby's example. Most are dated between 1977 and about 1990.
No source consulted gives a production figure.
What to Look For
Start with the case number, which should begin 78094 and run into a four-digit serial, and with the back, which should be held by four screws. The movement should be the hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1, also cataloged as the 2512-1. Every catalog consulted describes a hand-wound movement, so a quartz movement in a case numbered 78094 is not the original configuration.
Sight along the oval for dents and heavy polishing, which soften its curve. The Roman numerals should be crisply printed, the cabochon crown intact, and a gold buckle or clasp signed Cartier. Diamond-set bezels are documented on this reference, but no catalog consulted says whether Cartier set the stones.
