What is a Cartier Vendôme Ref. 78090 worth?

Public auction and dealer results for Ref. 78090 from November 2023 to November 2026 come to $6,700 to $10,100, with a median of $7,850 across 3 sales of this exact reference. The most recent was $5,550 at Loupe This in June 2026. Condition, service history, and the original box and papers move an individual watch within that range.

What is the Vendôme Ref. 78090?

The gold Vendôme of the Louis Cartier collection: a 33 mm round case in 18k yellow gold with a cabochon-set crown, a white dial with black Roman numerals and a railroad minute track, blued steel hands and a leather strap. The movement is hand-wound, cataloged as cal. 2512 with 17 jewels.

Was the 78090 made in other metals?

Yes. Monaco Legend sold a 78090 in 18k white gold, dated circa 1970s, in October 2025, and Antiquorum a yellow gold example with a bezel set with mother-of-pearl and diamonds in December 2025.

Which movement is in the Ref. 78090?

A hand-wound movement, which Antiquorum and Monaco Legend both catalog as cal. 2512 with 17 jewels.

What should I check before buying a Ref. 78090?

Which metal and bezel it has, since yellow gold, white gold and a mother-of-pearl and diamond bezel have all been cataloged under 78090. Ask for photographs of the movement, cataloged as cal. 2512 with 17 jewels, and of the case number: Antiquorum's example is 780902006, the reference followed by the serial.

Cartier · Vendôme

Vendôme, 18k Yellow Gold, Manual Wind

Ref. 78090c. 1973–1980s

The Cartier Vendôme Ref. 78090 is a 33 mm 18k yellow gold manual-wind Vendôme on the cal. 2512 with 17 jewels, made c. 1973–1980s as part of the Louis Cartier collection, with a white Roman numeral dial and a cabochon-set crown.

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Recent sales of Ref. 78090: $6,700 to $10,100, median $7,850 across 3 sales of this exact reference, Nov 2023 to Nov 2026. What's yours worth?

Only sales that name Ref. 78090 count here.

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Photos by @arthurcollecting

Specifications

Reference: 78090; 18k yellow gold, manual wind, 33 mm
Year: c. 1973–1980s; From the 1973 launch of the Louis Cartier collection; dated examples run from the 1970s through the 1980s
Movement: Manual; Cal. 2512, 17 jewels
Case: 33 mm, 18k Yellow Gold
Dial: White; Black Roman numerals with a railroad minute track
Hands: Blued steel
Crystal: Not stated in the catalogs consulted
Strap: Leather; Leather strap; one cataloged example on an 18k gold Cartier deployant clasp

Visual Description

The Ref. 78090 is a 33 mm Vendôme in 18k yellow gold. Loupe This calls the case slightly oval, and Monaco Legend measured its white gold example at 34 mm wide by 29 mm long.

The white dial carries black Roman numerals and a railroad minute track under blued steel hands, and the crown is set with a cabochon. Catalogs show the watch on a leather strap, one with an 18k gold Cartier deployant clasp.

Reference Significance

The 78090 is the 33 mm manual-wind Vendôme in gold. The other Vendômes in this archive are quartz: the 24 mm vermeil Must de Cartier Ref. 590004 and the 24 mm 18k gold Ref. 881002. A smaller 26 mm manual gold Vendôme appears in Analog/Shift's sold archive as Ref. 67080.

The oval watch of the same Louis Cartier Collection size is the Ellipse Ref. 78091, so check the shape of the case against the number on the back.

Historical Context

Loupe This dates the launch to 1973, as part of the Louis Cartier collection, while Monaco Legend's catalog essay says the Vendôme was introduced in the late 1970s. Dated examples run from a white gold watch of circa the 1970s to yellow gold examples of the 1980s, and no source found gives the year production ended.

Antiquorum and Monaco Legend both catalog the movement as cal. 2512 with 17 jewels.

What to Look For

Check which metal and bezel the watch has: yellow gold, white gold and a mother-of-pearl and diamond bezel have all been cataloged under 78090. Antiquorum's example has the case number 780902006, the reference followed by the serial.

Ask for a photograph of the hand-wound movement, which catalogs give as cal. 2512 with 17 jewels, and check the cabochon in the crown.

Known Variants

Documented dial, case, and bracelet variations of Ref. 78090.

18k Yellow Gold

The yellow gold case with a white dial, black Roman numerals, a railroad minute track and blued steel hands, as Loupe This describes it.

c. 1980sDocumented at auction and by a dealer

18k White Gold

A 78090 in 18k white gold with a white Roman numeral dial and blued steel hands, dated circa 1970s by Monaco Legend, which sold it in October 2025.

c. 1970sOne example found

Mother-of-Pearl and Diamond Bezel

Yellow gold with a bezel set with mother-of-pearl and diamonds, on an 18k gold Cartier deployant clasp, sold by Antiquorum in Monaco in December 2025.

c. 1980sOne example found

Collector's Corner

Reading the case back

What the numbers on the back of Ref. 78090 mean. Cased in Paris, 1970s and 1980s.

Photo by @arthurcollecting

Reference: 78090; The first five digits of one long number, with the serial run straight on, under Paris.
Serial: Four digits, after the reference; Antiquorum prints the whole number as 78090 2···; Monaco Legend prints the four digits alone, as 1'···.
Metal: No fineness written; Houses catalog it in 18k yellow or white gold. The back photographed here carries a hallmark but no 750.
Hallmarks: One small mark above Paris; Too small in this photo to read. The French marks are in the hallmarks guide.
Dating: Papers, not the digits; Monaco Legend dates one to the 1970s and Antiquorum another to the 1980s. No source reads a year from the number.
Clasp: Cartier 18k deployant; Antiquorum catalogs one on leather with an 18k gold Cartier deployant clasp.

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. 78090 from its neighbors, and what to check before you buy or sell one.

What is a Cartier Vendôme Ref. 78090 worth?: Public auction and dealer results for Ref. 78090 from November 2023 to November 2026 come to $6,700 to $10,100, with a median of $7,850 across 3 sales of this exact reference. The most recent was $5,550 at Loupe This in June 2026. Condition, service history, and the original box and papers move an individual watch within that range.
What is the Vendôme Ref. 78090?: The gold Vendôme of the Louis Cartier collection: a 33 mm round case in 18k yellow gold with a cabochon-set crown, a white dial with black Roman numerals and a railroad minute track, blued steel hands and a leather strap. The movement is hand-wound, cataloged as cal. 2512 with 17 jewels.
Was the 78090 made in other metals?: Yes. Monaco Legend sold a 78090 in 18k white gold, dated circa 1970s, in October 2025, and Antiquorum a yellow gold example with a bezel set with mother-of-pearl and diamonds in December 2025.
How big is the Ref. 78090?: Catalogs give 33 mm. Loupe This calls the case slightly oval, and Monaco Legend measured its example at 34 mm wide by 29 mm long.
Which movement is in the Ref. 78090?: A hand-wound movement, which Antiquorum and Monaco Legend both catalog as cal. 2512 with 17 jewels.
What should I check before buying a Ref. 78090?: Which metal and bezel it has, since yellow gold, white gold and a mother-of-pearl and diamond bezel have all been cataloged under 78090. Ask for photographs of the movement, cataloged as cal. 2512 with 17 jewels, and of the case number: Antiquorum's example is 780902006, the reference followed by the serial.