Short answer
Cartier does not sell a watch named the Baignoire 1861. The Baignoire is a case shape Cartier dates to 1912. The digits 1861 do not match any Baignoire reference on Cartier's product pages. Listings that join the two terms use a seller label. Ask for a movement number and a caseback photo before you treat 1861 as a fact.
The Baignoire case
Cartier traces the Baignoire to 1912. The case is an elongated oval with a curved profile, which gives the model its name. Baignoire is French for bathtub. Standard features include Roman numerals, blued steel hands, and a crown set with a blue cabochon. Cartier sells the line in steel and in gold, on leather straps and on metal bracelets. The current collection includes mini, small, and Allongee sizes. The Allongee is the longer version of the same oval.
What the number 1861 refers to
Search results use 1861 in two ways. Some listings treat it as a movement number. Cartier uses four-digit calibre numbers with the suffix MC, and this guide could not confirm a Cartier calibre 1861 fitted to any Baignoire model. Other listings treat 1861 as a reference number or a year. Cartier was founded in 1847 and dates the Baignoire shape to 1912, so 1861 is not a Baignoire launch year.
What replica listings show
- Case metal: claims of 316L steel, gold plating, or solid gold.
- Glass: claims of sapphire crystal. Mineral glass looks the same in photos.
- Movement: quartz, automatic, or hand-wound. Country of origin goes unstated in most ads.
- Markings: dial print, caseback engraving, and the crown cabochon.
Many product photos are stock images from Cartier. They do not show the item that ships.
US law on counterfeit watches
The Lanham Act covers counterfeits. 15 U.S.C. 1114 makes the sale of goods with a counterfeit mark trademark infringement. For a willful violation, 15 U.S.C. 1117(c) sets statutory damages up to $2,000,000 per counterfeit mark per type of goods. 19 U.S.C. 1526 bars import of goods with counterfeit marks, and lets US Customs and Border Protection seize and destroy them. CBP lists watches among the top seized counterfeit categories. Section 1526(d) exempts one article of each type carried in personal baggage for personal use, not for sale. A mailed package does not qualify for that exemption.
Checks before payment
- Ask for photos of the actual watch, not catalog images.
- Ask for a photo of the movement, with the caseback removed if needed.
- Ask for the reference number on the caseback and the calibre number on the movement.
- Ask for the case size in millimeters, measured with calipers.
- Check the payment method. Wire transfer and crypto leave no chargeback path.
- Check the return window in writing.
Open questions
No public Cartier document ties the number 1861 to a Baignoire model. Pricing and stock for replica listings change by seller, and no central record exists for them. Treat any claim about a Baignoire 1861 as unverified until the seller supplies movement and caseback photos.