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Cartier London, Off The Record
London in the mid-1970s was not interested in approval. The music was louder, the tailoring sharper, and the rules felt optional. Cartier’s London workshop reflected that mood perfectly. Small, independent, and fiercely opinionated, it produced watches that felt closer to the street than the salon. This Ceinture from 1976 is a product of that moment. Handmade, unconventional, and instantly recognizable to those who know what they are looking at.
The Ceinture takes the familiar square shape and sharpens it. The name means “belt,” and the case corners are cut like a buckle caught mid-motion. It is elegant but slightly confrontational, especially in this 23mm 18k yellow gold case that wears with intention rather than scale. This was never about size. It was about shape.
The dial tells you immediately where it comes from. No minute track or visual hand-holding. Just bold Roman numerals stretched to the edges, letting negative space do the heavy lifting. This omission is not an oversight. It is one of the most recognizable signatures of Cartier London, and once you see it, later Paris and New York dials feel almost over-explained.
Inside beats the manual-wound Jaeger-LeCoultre caliber 841, a slim and serious movement that Cartier relied on for its most refined pieces. It is paired here with the original deployant clasp, stamped 1886, matching the case number exactly. The British hallmarks are all present. JC maker’s mark. Royal Crown. Leopard head for London assay. A cursive B dating the case to 1976 and an A on the clasp from 1975, likely produced ahead and held until the watch itself was ready. These are the kinds of details collectors chase because they cannot be recreated or faked convincingly.
Examples like this rarely surface. When they do, they usually appear under bright auction lights at Christie's, Sotheby's, or Phillips, surrounded by international bidders and inflated expectations. This one bypasses all of that. It comes straight to you, paired on a new black alligator strap, ready to become the anchor piece in a collection rather than the trophy you never quite win.
This is not nostalgia. It is provenance with teeth. An investment-grade Cartier that stays relevant because it never tried to please everyone in the first place.
Overall, the watch presents as a top condition Cartier London Ceinture with original matching components.
The 18k yellow gold case shows light surface wear consistent with age while retaining strong edges and definition.
The dial is clean and original with bold Roman numerals and no minute track, consistent with Cartier London design language.
The caseback is stamped 1886 and matches the deployant clasp, with correct British hallmarks including JC maker’s mark, Royal Crown, Leopard head, and date letter B for 1976.
The blued steel hands are original and well preserved, and the crystal shows only light signs of wear.
The watch is fitted to a brand new black alligator strap and retains its original 18k yellow gold deployant clasp.
The manual-wound Jaeger-LeCoultre caliber 841 is running accurately at the time of listing.
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