The Cartier Pasha was launched in 1985 as a round sports watch, an unusual shape for a house better known for rectangular and oval cases. The original has a 38mm case, large for its time, made in precious metal, with a broad bezel and the period’s Vendôme lugs. Its defining detail is a screw-down crown cap set with a cabochon and held to the case by a small chain; unscrewing it reveals a smaller crown used to wind and set the watch. The dial combines a round face with a square minute track at the centre and Arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9. The canteen-style crown cover helped give the original Pasha 100 metres of water resistance. Later in the 1980s a gold perpetual calendar version with a moon phase and quartz movement joined the line.

The Pasha was designed by Gérald Genta, thirteen years after his Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. Its name honours Thami El Glaoui, the Pasha of Marrakesh, who according to Cartier asked Louis Cartier in the early 1930s for a water-resistant gold watch, a request answered with a covered crown. Sources disagree on the date of that commission, and The Rake notes there is no firm proof that he owned the watch. The yellow gold Pasha with a protective grille over the crystal and a Figaro bracelet became one of the most famous variants. In 1990 a stainless steel version ended five years of precious-metal-only production, and the smaller 35mm Pasha C followed in 1995 with an “H” link bracelet.

The Pasha is regarded as a quintessential 1980s Genta design: bold, sporty and masculine, but still recognisably Cartier. Collectors are especially keen on the early gold pieces with the Figaro bracelet, which was dropped soon after launch, and collector George Cramer has called it the best bracelet Cartier made for its larger watches. The steel model of 1990 is often recommended as an entry point into vintage Pasha collecting. The Rake describes it as a watch intended to make a statement while keeping the elegance of the house. The original 1985 reference is no longer produced. Cartier relaunched the Pasha de Cartier in 2020 in 35mm and 41mm sizes with the in-house calibre 1847 MC, QuickSwitch straps and SmartLink bracelet adjustment, and the collection remains in production.