Cartier reference

A reference like WSTA0106 names the model. The case number points to a model family and the serial identifies one watch. Neither gives a year.

The reference is on the warranty card and on Cartier’s product pages (“CR” in front is part of the site’s article number and makes no difference). The caseback usually shows a four-digit case number and the serial.

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Not proof of authenticity. Counterfeits copy real serials and references, and Cartier keeps no public serial record.

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Three different numbers

Reference – W, then letters for the material group and the collection, then four digits (WSTA0106). Older references have eight characters in other patterns. This is what names the model; we look it up in Cartier’s current catalog.

Case number – four digits on the caseback, sometimes with a digit or letter after it. It points to a family of models and sizes. The same case number is used across materials, so it doesn’t tell steel from gold.

Serial – identifies one watch. It can be digits only, letters then digits, or digits then two letters; on recent watches it often follows the case number directly. Both orders were in use around 1999–2005, and letters-first serials go back to at least 1990; neither gives a year.

What the numbers can’t tell you

A year. The popular rule that reads a year from the leading digits doesn’t hold up on auction lots with dated warranty papers. The card, Cartier Care or a boutique shows the purchase date.
Whether the watch is genuine.
The material or the movement from a case number or from the two collection letters – several models share them.
A model for retired references: Cartier’s site lists current ones only.

Genuine watches that confuse decoders

Limited editions numbered like 094/100 instead of a usual serial.
Case number and serial run together in listings (3867743412WX).
A tail after the case number, like 1035 1 or 1575 B.
Vintage watches with long runs of digits, or a serial only inside the caseback.
Vintage Must de Cartier in gold-plated silver – not solid gold, by design.