What is a Cartier Tortue Ref. 2396 worth?

Public auction and dealer results for Ref. 2396 from November 2023 to November 2026 come to $43,850 to $54,400, with a median of $45,000 across 4 sales of this exact reference. The most recent was $81,000 at Phillips Hong Kong in May 2026. Condition, service history, and the original box and papers move an individual watch within that range.

What is the Tortue Ref. 2396?

The white gold Tortue Monopoussoir of the Collection Privée Cartier Paris: a 34 × 43 mm 18k white gold tonneau case with a single-button chronograph, hand-wound on the Cartier Cal. 045MC with 22 jewels. Phillips describes the dial as rosette guilloché with an enlarged XII; it has running seconds at 9 and a 30-minute counter at 3, blued steel Breguet hands, a sapphire-set crown and a sapphire display back.

How does the Ref. 2396 differ from the Ref. 2356?

Metal and dial. The 2396 is 18k white gold with the enlarged-XII dial Phillips describes; the yellow gold 2356 has a ring of black Roman numerals. A Collected Man notes that the model was offered in white, yellow and pink gold, each with its own dial. Both are 34 × 43 mm single-button chronographs on the hand-wound Cal. 045MC.

How rare is the Ref. 2396?

No production figure appears in the catalogs we consulted. Phillips, Sotheby's, Antiquorum and A Collected Man have all offered examples, and Sotheby's has offered one cataloged as 2396B.

What should I check before buying a Ref. 2396?

The chronograph: one button starts, stops and resets it, and the hand should return cleanly to zero. Then the display back, which Sotheby's and Antiquorum record as secured by eight screws (Sotheby's cataloged one 2396B with seven); a movement signed Cartier 045MC with 22 jewels; an 18k white gold Cartier deployant clasp; and a certificate whose retailer stamp and date fit the watch.

Cartier · Cartier Tortue

Tortue Monopoussoir Chronograph, CPCP

Ref. 2396c. 1998–2008Also cataloged as 2396B

The Cartier Tortue Ref. 2396 is a 34 × 43 mm 18k white gold single-button chronograph made c. 1998–2008 for the Collection Privée Cartier Paris on the hand-wound Cartier Cal. 045MC, the white gold sibling of the yellow gold Ref. 2356.

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Recent sales of Ref. 2396: $43,850 to $54,400, median $45,000 across 4 sales of this exact reference, Nov 2023 to Nov 2026. What's yours worth?

Only sales that name Ref. 2396 or 2396B count here.

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Photos by @antoine.de.macedo

Specifications

Reference: 2396; Collection Privée Cartier Paris Monopoussoir Chronograph
Year: c. 1998–2008; Phillips records Cartier certificates dated 17 November 1998 and 10 October 1999; Sotheby's dates examples c. 2005 and c. 2008, and Phillips one c. 2010
Movement: Cartier Caliber 045MC (developed by THA: Journe, Flageollet, Halter)
Case: 34 × 43 mm (width × height), 18k white gold; Tonneau
Dial: Silver-white
Hands: Blued steel Breguet-style (hour, minute), blued steel chronograph hand
Crystal: Sapphire, anti-reflective coating
Strap: Brown crocodile leather with 18k white gold deployant clasp

Visual Description

The 2396 is the Tortue Monopoussoir in 18k white gold: a tonneau case of 34 × 43 mm and, by Antiquorum's measure, 10 mm thick. Phillips describes the dial as rosette guilloché with an enlarged XII, and the example photographed here shows it: a silvered guilloché ground, a single large XII, dot markers on a blue-printed chapter ring, Cartier Paris below the center, running seconds at 9 and a 30-minute counter at 3.

The hands are blued steel Breguet hands, and the crown is set with a sapphire, which Phillips notes the 1928 original did not have. A sapphire display back held by eight screws shows the Cal. 045MC, which Antiquorum describes as rhodium-plated with special Cartier decoration.

Reference Significance

The 2396 is the white gold Tortue Monopoussoir of the Collection Privée, beside the yellow gold Ref. 2356 and a pink gold version that A Collected Man records. Its movement, the hand-wound single-button Cal. 045MC, was developed by THA, the workshop founded by Vianney Halter, Denis Flageollet and François-Paul Journe; Phillips notes that the three worked together on it before each became independent.

Historical Context

Cartier made its first single-button chronograph in 1928, worked through a button in the crown, and Phillips calls the CPCP Tortue Monopoussoir a modern interpretation of that original. The Collection Privée Cartier Paris was formalized as a line in 1998 and ran for about ten years.

Dates for the 2396 come from Cartier certificates and auction catalogs. Phillips has offered one with a certificate dated 17 November 1998 and another with one dated 10 October 1999, so the model was on sale by late 1998, although A Collected Man gives 1999 as its introduction. Antiquorum has offered one made in 2000, and Sotheby's dates examples to about 2005 and, for a 2396B, about 2008. Phillips dates one to about 2010, after the line ended, without listing a certificate.

What to Look For

Case back: Read the reference, 2396 or 2396B, and the case number, which on the examples we found runs in a CC series. Sotheby's and Antiquorum record the display back as secured by eight screws, though Sotheby's cataloged one 2396B with seven.

Chronograph: One button starts, stops and resets the chronograph. Each press should act cleanly, and the hand should return to zero.

Movement: The Cal. 045MC should be signed Cartier, with 22 jewels. Ask for photographs through the display back and for the service record, from a watchmaker who knows the caliber.

Dial: On the enlarged-XII dial, check that the guilloché is even and that the blue printing and the Cartier Paris signature are crisp. If a seller offers the blue Roman numeral dial Antiquorum describes, ask for clear photographs.

Clasp and papers: Phillips, Sotheby's and Antiquorum record 18k white gold Cartier deployant clasps. A Cartier certificate carries the selling retailer's stamp and date; Phillips' two dated examples are from November 1998 and October 1999.

Known Variants

Documented dial, case, and bracelet variations of Ref. 2396.

Rosette Guilloché Dial, Enlarged XII

Phillips describes a rosette guilloché dial with an enlarged XII and blued steel Breguet hands on an example with a 1999 certificate, and a two-register dial with blue accents on another. The photographs here show both: a single large XII, a blue-printed chapter ring with dot markers, and two sub-dials.

c. 1999 (dated example)Documented at auction

Blue Roman Numeral Dial

Antiquorum describes the dial of a 2396 made in 2000 as silver with blue-painted radial Roman numerals. It may be a second dial or a looser description of the enlarged-XII dial; we have not seen the example.

2000 (one example)One example documented

Collector's Corner

Reading the case back

What the numbers on the back of Ref. 2396 mean. Collection Privée Cartier Paris, late 1990s.

Photo by @antoine.de.macedo

Reference: 2396; Along the right edge of the display back.
Serial: Four digits, then CC; Phillips prints two as 04··CC and 06··CC. The back photographed here also shows N° 05 at the top; no source opened explains it.
Metal: 18K; Struck beside WATER RESISTANT. Phillips catalogs 18k white gold.
Hallmarks: Small marks beside 18K; Too small in this photo to read. The Swiss marks are in the hallmarks guide.
Dating: Cartier papers, not the digits; Phillips sold two with Cartier papers dated November 1998 and October 1999.
Clasp: Cartier 18k white gold deployant; Both Phillips lots are fitted with one.

Serials quoted from catalogs are shortened with dots: they belong to their owners. How Cartier numbered its cases in each era is on the case back guide, and the stamped marks are in the hallmarks guide.

How to tell it apart

What separates a Ref. 2396 from its neighbors, and what to check before you buy or sell one.

What is a Cartier Tortue Ref. 2396 worth?: Public auction and dealer results for Ref. 2396 from November 2023 to November 2026 come to $43,850 to $54,400, with a median of $45,000 across 4 sales of this exact reference. The most recent was $81,000 at Phillips Hong Kong in May 2026. Condition, service history, and the original box and papers move an individual watch within that range.
What is the Tortue Ref. 2396?: The white gold Tortue Monopoussoir of the Collection Privée Cartier Paris: a 34 × 43 mm 18k white gold tonneau case with a single-button chronograph, hand-wound on the Cartier Cal. 045MC with 22 jewels. Phillips describes the dial as rosette guilloché with an enlarged XII; it has running seconds at 9 and a 30-minute counter at 3, blued steel Breguet hands, a sapphire-set crown and a sapphire display back.
How does the Ref. 2396 differ from the Ref. 2356?: Metal and dial. The 2396 is 18k white gold with the enlarged-XII dial Phillips describes; the yellow gold 2356 has a ring of black Roman numerals. A Collected Man notes that the model was offered in white, yellow and pink gold, each with its own dial. Both are 34 × 43 mm single-button chronographs on the hand-wound Cal. 045MC.
When was the Ref. 2396 made?: A Collected Man and several Phillips essays give 1999 as the model's introduction, but Phillips has offered a 2396 with a Cartier certificate dated 17 November 1998 and another with one dated 10 October 1999. Sotheby's dates examples to about 2005 and about 2008, within the Collection Privée's run from 1998 to 2008, and Phillips dates one to about 2010.
How rare is the Ref. 2396?: No production figure appears in the catalogs we consulted. Phillips, Sotheby's, Antiquorum and A Collected Man have all offered examples, and Sotheby's has offered one cataloged as 2396B.
What should I check before buying a Ref. 2396?: The chronograph: one button starts, stops and resets it, and the hand should return cleanly to zero. Then the display back, which Sotheby's and Antiquorum record as secured by eight screws (Sotheby's cataloged one 2396B with seven); a movement signed Cartier 045MC with 22 jewels; an 18k white gold Cartier deployant clasp; and a certificate whose retailer stamp and date fit the watch.