What is the Cartier Baignoire Allongée W1507451?

A 1991 limited edition that brought back the long oval Baignoire Allongée of the late 1960s. It has a 23 × 54 mm 18k yellow gold case, a silvered or ivory guilloché dial with black radial Roman numerals, blued épée hands and the hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1. Phillips describes it as a reissue of 400 pieces for the Collection Privée, an out-of-catalogue line reserved for the house's best clients.

How is the W1507451 different from the original Baignoire Allongée?

The original Allongée was made for Cartier London around 1968 to 1969, carries London hallmarks and a case number rather than a reference, and runs on a Jaeger-LeCoultre movement with a plain cream dial. The W1507451 dates from 1991, has the reference, an edition number out of 400 and an A-prefixed serial on the back, a guilloché dial, a sapphire crystal and the Cartier Cal. 78-1.

How many W1507451 were made?

400. Monaco Legend's example is numbered 222/400 on the back, and Phillips catalogs the reference as a 400-piece limited edition.

How big is the W1507451?

About 23 mm wide and 54 mm long according to Phillips and European Watch Co., with Monaco Legend measuring 24 × 52 mm, and about 9.5 mm thick. That is more than twice as long as it is wide, the proportion that defines the Allongée.

What should come with a W1507451?

The examples sold at Phillips and Monaco Legend came with their box and certificate, and European Watch Co. records papers dated 1991. The case back should carry W1507451, an edition number out of 400 and a serial beginning with A, and the deployant clasp should be 18k yellow gold and signed Cartier.

Cartier · Cartier Baignoire

Baignoire Allongée, 1991 Limited Edition, 18k Yellow Gold

Ref. W15074511991

The Cartier Baignoire Allongée Ref. W1507451 is the 1991 reissue of the long London oval: a 23 × 54 mm 18k yellow gold case on the hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1, made in a numbered edition of 400 with a guilloché dial.

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Specifications

Reference: W1507451; 1991 reissue of the Allongée, limited edition of 400, manual wind
Year: 1991; Phillips and Monaco Legend both date their examples to 1991, and European Watch Co. records papers dated 1991 on two examples; the edition of 400 points to a single short run
Movement: Manual; Cartier Cal. 78-1, 17 jewels
Case: 23 × 54 mm, 18k Yellow Gold
Dial: Silvered or ivory guilloché; Painted black radial Roman numerals that lengthen toward the ends of the oval
Hands: Blued steel; Épée (sword-shaped)
Crystal: Sapphire; Per European Watch Co.; the auction catalogs do not state it
Strap: Leather; Alligator strap with an 18k yellow gold Cartier deployant clasp

Visual Description

The W1507451 is the Baignoire stretched to its limit: an 18k yellow gold oval about 23 mm wide and 54 mm long, curving around the wrist so that the dial reads as a narrow band of light. At about 9.5 mm it has real depth, and the case flows into hooded lugs that hide the strap attachment.

The dial is guilloché, described as silver by Monaco Legend and ivory by European Watch Co., and printed with black Roman numerals that radiate from the center and grow longer toward the ends of the oval. Blued steel épée hands, a sapphire-set crown and a sapphire crystal complete the front. The back is engraved with the reference, the edition number out of 400 and an A-prefixed serial, and the watch is fitted to an alligator strap with an 18k yellow gold Cartier deployant clasp.

Reference Significance

The original Baignoire Allongée was one of Cartier London's most radical shapes of the late 1960s, made in small numbers and never given a standard reference. The W1507451 is the house's own return to that design, and it gave the Allongée something the London pieces never had: a catalog number, a numbered edition and papers.

For collectors it is the most practical way into the Allongée silhouette. It shares the extreme proportion of the London originals but adds a sapphire crystal and the hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1, and the edition of 400 makes it scarce without being impossible to find. Phillips places it in the Collection Privée, Cartier's out-of-catalogue line for its most faithful clients.

Historical Context

Phillips writes that Cartier reissued the Allongée in 1991 as a 400-piece limited edition, and every dated example we found belongs to that year: Phillips catalogs its example as 1991, Monaco Legend dates its N° 222/400 to 1991, and European Watch Co. records papers dated 1991 on two examples. Monaco Legend titles its lot Cartier Paris, distinguishing the reissue from the London-made originals.

The reissue arrived in the years when Cartier was revisiting its own archive, a few years before the formal launch of the Collection Privée Cartier Paris line in 1998. Monaco Legend's essay says the larger oval took the Baignoire Allongée name in 1973, which does not match the London date letters of 1968 and 1969 recorded on the original Allongée, so that date is not relied on here. Phillips sold an example in June 2020 for CHF 22,500, and Monaco Legend sold N° 222/400 in October 2021 for €31,250.

What to Look For

Turn the watch over first. The back should be engraved with W1507451, an edition number out of 400 and a serial beginning with A, as on Phillips' example (A108005) and Monaco Legend's (A108218). The movement should be the hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1; anything else is a replacement.

The guilloché dial should show even, sharp engine-turning, and the radial numerals should be cleanly printed all the way to the ends of the oval, where refinished dials tend to lose detail. The long, curved case is easily softened by polishing, so look for crisp edges at the ends and an even curve along the sides. Box, certificate and the original 18k gold deployant clasp add materially to an edition piece like this.

Known Variants

Documented dial, case, and bracelet variations of Ref. W1507451.

18k Yellow Gold, Guilloché Dial

The only configuration documented: silvered or ivory guilloché dial with radial black Roman numerals, blued épée hands and a sapphire-set crown, the edition number engraved on the back as N° xxx/400.

1991Limited edition of 400

How to tell it apart

What separates a Ref. W1507451 from its neighbors, and what to check before you buy or sell one.

What is the Cartier Baignoire Allongée W1507451?: A 1991 limited edition that brought back the long oval Baignoire Allongée of the late 1960s. It has a 23 × 54 mm 18k yellow gold case, a silvered or ivory guilloché dial with black radial Roman numerals, blued épée hands and the hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1. Phillips describes it as a reissue of 400 pieces for the Collection Privée, an out-of-catalogue line reserved for the house's best clients.
How is the W1507451 different from the original Baignoire Allongée?: The original Allongée was made for Cartier London around 1968 to 1969, carries London hallmarks and a case number rather than a reference, and runs on a Jaeger-LeCoultre movement with a plain cream dial. The W1507451 dates from 1991, has the reference, an edition number out of 400 and an A-prefixed serial on the back, a guilloché dial, a sapphire crystal and the Cartier Cal. 78-1.
How many W1507451 were made?: 400. Monaco Legend's example is numbered 222/400 on the back, and Phillips catalogs the reference as a 400-piece limited edition.
How big is the W1507451?: About 23 mm wide and 54 mm long according to Phillips and European Watch Co., with Monaco Legend measuring 24 × 52 mm, and about 9.5 mm thick. That is more than twice as long as it is wide, the proportion that defines the Allongée.
What should come with a W1507451?: The examples sold at Phillips and Monaco Legend came with their box and certificate, and European Watch Co. records papers dated 1991. The case back should carry W1507451, an edition number out of 400 and a serial beginning with A, and the deployant clasp should be 18k yellow gold and signed Cartier.