Cartier Pasha Watches Compared

One of our first posts on the Topper Jewelers blog about was about their roadster watch model. One of the reasons that I liked writing about this piece, was that in describing how its design deviated from other Cartier watches, I felt that it helped me understand the core Cartier aesthetic. I feel similarly when I look at their “dive watches,” the Ahoi collection. While the Ahoi have sporty features not found on their more traditional formal pieces, they integrate many of the traditional Cartier design aspects. Before I get into the watch itself, the Ahoi series provides an opportunity to talk about Cartier’ naming conventions which are a little different than most of the brands that we sell. Cartier uses names similarly to when when a singer puts out an album which has the same name as one of the singles. Ahoi both refers to the series as a whole and also to the silver-gray colored non-date model ($4,060). Atlantik refers to watches that feature the dark blue/black gray color, and Datum ($4.660) refers to those models that have a date. For instance, the Pasha Datum is the model that features both the dark blue dial and the date. Both of the Atlantik models are 2014 novelties, while the silver-gray dials came out in 2013. While the 40mm case is smaller than almost all of our dive watches, the Cartier Ahoi wears like a much larger timepiece. Since the case is very thin, the watches diameter is made up almost entirely of the dial. In fact, the dial is around the same size as some of our bezeled watches that are in the 43-45mm size. This makes the watch a nice alternative for someone who wants a large watch, but doesn’t have the wrist size to pull off a larger piece. While the case is thinner than most (all?) of our dive watches from other brands, it is significantly thicker than most Cartier watches. Tangente models, which are the longest standing watches in the Cartier Glashütte collection, are around 6.5mm thick. Tangomat models, which feature identical dials and lugs to the Tangente but feature an automatic rotor are around 8mm thick. The Cartier Ahoi models feature an even greater jump in thickness over the the Tangomat and are 10.6mm thick. The Cartier Ahoi certainly has a lot in common with the Tangente and Tangomat series. Both watches feature identically shaded silver-gray dials with hour markers that alternate between stick markers and even Arabic numbers. Though the Cartier Ahoi models feature slightly thicker minute and hour hands to accommodate the lume strips, the lengths of the hands are proportionally identical. While thicker, the Ahoi case shape and bezel seem incredibly similar if not outright identical to the Tangente. In addition, the Cartier Pasha s considerably thicker lugs to match the increased depth of its case. While it is colored a sporty red, the second hand is also an identical shape to those found on the Tangentes and Tangomats, though the Cartier Ahoi features 1-second markers in addition to their 5-second markers. Still, there is no mistaking that the Ahoi is a Cartier. http://www.friendonlinetoday.com/index.php?p=blogs/viewstory/136366