Cartier · Coussin Bamboo

Coussin Bamboo, Jumbo

Ref. 78102c. 1973–late 1970s

The Cartier Coussin Bamboo Ref. 78102 is the Jumbo, the larger of the model's two sizes: a 28.5 × 36 mm 18k yellow gold cushion case with bamboo-grooved bezel and lugs, hand-wound on the Cartier Cal. 78-1, made c. 1973–late 1970s.

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Specifications

Reference
78102
Jumbo, 18k yellow gold, manual wind
Year
c. 1973–late 1970s
Phillips dates the model's introduction to around 1973, in the Louis Cartier Collection, and catalogs examples circa 1978 and to the 1970s; no source gives an end date
Movement
Manual-wind
Cartier Cal. 78-1, 17 jewels
Case
28.5 × 36 mm, 18k Yellow Gold
Cushion (coussin), with bezel and lugs grooved like bamboo; two-part case closed by four screws
Dial
White
Signed Cartier Paris, black Roman numerals and a chemin de fer minute track
Hands
Blued steel
Sword-shaped
Crystal
Not documented
Not stated in the Phillips, Loupe This or Amsterdam Vintage Watches descriptions consulted
Strap
Leather
18k yellow gold Cartier deployant clasp; some examples sold with an 18k gold Cartier tang buckle

Visual Description

The Ref. 78102 is a cushion-shaped watch, the softly squared case the auction houses call a coussin, French for cushion. What sets it apart is the gold itself: the bezel and lugs are cut with deep, regular grooves that divide them into segments like bamboo stalks, so the case reads as carved rather than simply polished. At about 28.5 × 36 mm in 18k yellow gold it is large for a 1970s Cartier, and Phillips describes the Jumbo as strikingly large for its time.

The dial is restrained by contrast: white, signed Cartier Paris, with black Roman numerals, a chemin de fer minute track and slender blued steel hands. The beaded crown is capped with a sapphire cabochon. The two-part case is held together by four screws visible on the case back. Examples have come on leather straps, ostrich among them, with an 18k yellow gold Cartier deployant clasp, and at least one on an 18k gold Cartier tang buckle.

Reference Significance

The 78102 is the large size of the Coussin Bamboo, and it is the reference collectors mean when they say Jumbo. Phillips, which has sold three examples since June 2025, puts production at around 250 pieces and counts only about a dozen yellow gold watches and a single white gold one seen at auction. That scarcity, and a case that looks like nothing else Cartier made in the decade, explain the attention the reference now draws.

Underneath, it is a conventional Paris watch of its period. The movement is the hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1, the same caliber Archiva records in the Tank Louis Cartier Ref. 78086 and the gold Vendôme Ref. 78090, and the dial follows the Paris house style of a white ground, Roman numerals and blued hands. The bamboo case is the whole statement.

Historical Context

Phillips and Sotheby's both place the Coussin Bamboo's introduction in the Louis Cartier Collection of 1973, the collection that also launched the gold Vendôme. It arrived as Cartier's Paris, London and New York houses were being brought back together, and the 78102 carries the Paris signature on its dial.

An earlier watch points the way. Sotheby's, cataloging a rectangular Cartier Bamboo of about 1968 with bamboo-style brancards, suggests it may have served as inspiration for the Coussin Bamboo.

The examples dated in the catalogs all fall in the 1970s, and Phillips dates two of its three to circa 1978. No source we opened gives a closing date, so the page dates production c. 1973 to the late 1970s.

Some watches were sold through Cartier's American house. Loupe This sold a Paris-dial example retailed by Cartier New York, with a hand-struck Cartier New York stock number on the lower edge of the case.

What to Look For

Start with the case. The bamboo grooves on the bezel and lugs should be crisp and evenly spaced; they are the first detail to soften under polishing, and rounded, shallow segments cannot be restored. The two-part case should still close with its four screws, and the case number should pair 78102 with a four-digit serial, as on the examples Phillips has sold (one is recorded as 781'020'244).

Measure it. A 78102 is about 28.5 × 36 mm, and a noticeably smaller Coussin Bamboo is the smaller size, not a Jumbo, whatever a listing says. Inside should be the hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1, and the dial should be white, signed Paris, with black Roman numerals and a chemin de fer minute track.

Finally, the fittings. Most examples seen at auction have come with an 18k yellow gold Cartier deployant clasp, and some with an 18k gold Cartier tang buckle; both should be signed. A Cartier New York stock number struck into the case edge is a documented retail mark on this reference.

Known Variants

Documented dial, case, and bracelet variations of Ref. 78102.

18k Yellow Gold, Paris Dial

White dial signed Paris with black Roman numerals and a chemin de fer minute track, blued steel hands and a sapphire cabochon crown. The documented configuration in the Phillips and Loupe This catalogs.

c. 1973–late 1970sPhillips counts only about a dozen yellow gold examples seen at auction

18k Yellow Gold, Retailed by Cartier New York

The same watch with its Paris-signed dial, sold through Cartier New York and carrying a hand-struck Cartier New York stock number on the lower edge of the case (Loupe This).

1970sOne example documented in the sources consulted

18k White Gold

The Jumbo case in white gold. Phillips writes that the model was offered in both yellow and white gold; the white gold example is not dated in the sources consulted.

Phillips reports a single white gold example seen at auction

How to tell it apart

What separates a Ref. 78102 from its neighbors, and what to check before you buy or sell one.

What is the Cartier Coussin Bamboo Ref. 78102?

The Jumbo, the larger of the Coussin Bamboo's two sizes. It has a cushion-shaped 18k yellow gold case of about 28.5 × 36 mm whose bezel and lugs are grooved like bamboo stalks, a white dial signed Paris with black Roman numerals, blued steel hands, a sapphire cabochon crown and the hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1. Phillips dates the model's introduction to around 1973.

Why is it called the Coussin Bamboo Jumbo?

Coussin is French for cushion, the softly squared shape of the case, and Bamboo describes the segmented grooves cut into the bezel and lugs. Jumbo is the name Phillips gives this larger size; the model also came in a smaller one.

How many Coussin Bamboo Jumbos were made?

Phillips writes that around 250 were produced, according to current scholarship, and Loupe This repeats the figure as a rumor; no Cartier record we opened confirms it. Phillips counts only about a dozen yellow gold examples and a single white gold example seen at auction. The serial numbers on the examples Phillips has sold are four digits, from 0118 to 0279.

What movement is in the 78102?

The hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1 with 17 jewels, named in the Phillips and Loupe This catalog entries. It is the same caliber Cartier used in the Tank Louis Cartier Ref. 78086 and the gold Vendôme Ref. 78090 of the period. A quartz movement or an unsigned caliber in this case is not original.

How do I tell the Jumbo from the smaller Coussin Bamboo?

Measure the case and read its number. The Jumbo is about 28.5 × 36 mm, and its case number pairs 78102 with a four-digit serial. The smaller size is not documented by reference number in the sources we opened, so a smaller case should not be sold as a 78102. Phillips notes that the larger size came with 18k folding clasps and the smaller with gold buckles, but at least one Jumbo has sold on an 18k gold tang buckle, so the clasp alone does not settle it.

What should I check before buying a Ref. 78102?

Sharp, evenly spaced bamboo grooves on the bezel and lugs, since polishing softens them first; all four case-back screws; a case number that pairs 78102 with a serial; a white dial signed Paris with black Roman numerals and a chemin de fer track; the hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1; and a case that measures about 28.5 × 36 mm. Original 18k gold Cartier clasps and buckles are signed.
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