Guide · Case marks

Cartier Hallmarks

Paris, London and Swiss cases, and later production

Most vintage Cartier cases carry three kinds of mark: a state assay mark for the metal, a maker’s mark for the workshop that made the case, and Cartier’s own signature and numbers. Read together, they tell you where a watch was cased, roughly when, and what it is made of.

Start here

Three Kinds of Mark

01

Assay mark

Struck by a state assay office after testing the metal. In France it is a small head or animal; in Britain, a set of shields.

02

Maker’s mark

The workshop that made or sent in the case, often not Cartier itself. Its outline also tells you whether the metal is solid or plated.

03

Cartier’s signature

CARTIER with a city name, and on later pieces a reference and serial number. Engraved on the case back rather than struck.

Origin · Paris

Cartier Paris

A Paris-cased Cartier carries French state marks, struck very small, usually on a lug, the case back or the buckle. A loupe helps.

Eagle's headMacro photograph wanted

Eagle's head

1838 onward

France's mark for 18k gold. The most common state mark on a Paris-cased Cartier, on the case and often the clasp too.

Where to look: case back, lugs, buckle

OwlMacro photograph wanted

Owl

1893 onward

Gold of foreign or uncertain origin, tested by French assayers. On a Cartier it usually means the watch entered or was sold in France. Two owls: it came in twice.

Where to look: outside of the case back

Dog's headMacro photograph wanted

Dog's head

1912 onward

France's mark for platinum. Found on Cartier platinum watches such as the Baignoire, and on their clasps.

Where to look: case back, clasp

The Maker’s Mark

Inside the outline are the workshop’s initials and a small symbol. Many movements in these watches are signed European Watch & Clock Co., the venture Cartier and Edmond Jaeger formed in the 1920s.

The outline is the quickest read on any French piece: a lozenge means solid gold, silver or platinum; a square means plated metal.

A · B
Lozenge

Solid precious metal

A · B
Square

Plated metal

EJ (Edmond Jaeger)Macro photograph wanted

EJ (Edmond Jaeger)

c. 1910–1975

Edmond Jaeger's maker's mark: an E and a J either side of an hourglass, inside a lozenge. The best documented case maker's mark on Cartier Paris watches, from about 1910 to the 1970s.

Where to look: case back, deployant clasp

Origin · London

Cartier London

Cartier London cases carry a full British hallmark set: JC, the fineness, London’s leopard’s head and a date letter. It is the most precise set on any Cartier, because the date letter names the year the case was assayed.

JCMacro photograph wanted

JC

c. 1923–1987

Cartier London's own mark, struck beside the London hallmarks. Its cases were made by Wright & Davies, which left no mark of its own.

Where to look: inside the case back, clasp

Crown and 18Macro photograph wanted

Crown and 18

1798–1974

A crown beside the figure 18 marks British 18k gold. From 1975 the figure became 750, still beside a crown.

Where to look: inside the case back, clasp

Date letterMacro photograph wanted

Date letter

One letter a year in a shield; the letter's style and shield shape set the cycle. Before 1975 London changed letters each May, so catalogs write a span such as 1963–64. A clasp can carry a different year from its case.

Where to look: inside the case back, clasp

London import mark (sign of Leo)Macro photograph wanted

London import mark (sign of Leo)

1907–1998

Swiss-made Cartier watches assayed in London carry the sign of Leo instead of the leopard's head, no crown, and the fineness as 18 and .75 (750 from 1975).

Where to look: inside the case back, buckle

Origin · Switzerland

Swiss Cases

Swiss-cased gold carries a Swiss federal mark. Until 1995 the mark changed with the metal; since then one mark, the St. Bernard’s head, covers everything, with the fineness struck beside it as a number.

Helvetia headMacro photograph wanted

Helvetia head

c. 1882–1995

Switzerland's mark for 18k gold on watch cases: a woman's head in a shield. In 1995 a single mark, the St. Bernard's head, replaced it.

Where to look: inside the case back

A squirrel is the Swiss mark for 14k gold, not 18k.

1970s onward

Later Production and Must de Cartier

From the 1970s the case back does most of the talking. Must de Cartier vermeil adds 925 and ARGENT (sterling silver under the gold) and PLAQUE OR G 20M (20 microns of electroplated gold).

CARTIER PARIS signatureMacro photograph wanted

CARTIER PARIS signature

c. 1970 onward

CARTIER PARIS engraved on the case back with the reference and a serial number. The reference is the number the archive is indexed by.

Where to look: outside of the case back

Every line on a later case back, read one at a time: How to read a Cartier case back.

Origin · New York

Cartier New York

The United States never had a national assay office. A New York case carries a karat stamp, 18K or 14K, applied by the maker with its trademark beside it, so there is less to read than on a Paris or London piece.

Reading the set together

When to Look Closer

Some marks are commonly misread. None of these settles anything on its own; each is a reason to study the watch more carefully, or to ask a specialist.

  1. 01
    Two owls on a French caseNot a concern in itself. It usually means the watch entered France twice.
  2. 02
    W&D on a British caseThat is Rolex’s mark. Cartier London cases carry JC.
  3. 03
    A squirrel on a Swiss gold caseIt marks 14k gold. Swiss 18k carries the Helvetia head or, from 1995, the St. Bernard’s head.
  4. 04
    A square maker’s mark on a French pieceIt marks plated metal, not solid gold.
  5. 05
    Marks that disagree with each otherFor example, a London-style case with only modern Swiss marks.
Examples

Marks to Expect by Model

ModelOriginMarks to expect
Tank Louis CartierRef. 78086Parisc. 1974–1981Eagle’s head, Edmond Jaeger’s EJ lozenge, CARTIER PARIS case back with reference
Tank, LondonLondonc. 1920s–1980sJC, 18 and a crown (750 from 1975), leopard’s head, date letter
Must de Cartier TankRef. 81006Paris and Switzerland925 ARGENT, PLAQUE OR G 20M, CARTIER PARIS case back

Common Questions

What does the eagle’s head stamp on my Cartier mean?

It is France’s state mark for 18k gold, struck after the metal was tested. On a Cartier it usually means the case was assayed in France, most often for Cartier Paris.

Why does my Cartier have an owl stamp?

Since 1893 France has struck the owl on gold of foreign or uncertain origin after testing it. On a Cartier it usually means the watch entered or was sold in France. Two owls mean it came in twice.

What does JC mean on a Cartier watch?

JC is Cartier London’s sponsor’s mark, struck beside the London hallmarks on cases and clasps. Its cases were made by Wright & Davies, which left no mark of its own.

Can hallmarks tell me when my watch was made?

A London date letter names the year of assay; before 1975 each letter runs May to May, so catalogs give two years. French and Swiss marks narrow the era to a span of decades, and on later pieces the reference and serial number on the case back do the rest.

Does a squirrel mean my Cartier is 18k?

No. The squirrel is the Swiss mark for 14k gold. Swiss 18k gold carries the Helvetia head before 1995 and the St. Bernard’s head after.

My watch has no French marks. Is that a problem?

Not on its own. London, New York and Swiss cases each carry their own marks, and steel pieces carry no assay mark at all.

Found These Marks on a Watch?

Find the reference, then see what it has sold for.

See estimated market valueRead the case back

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