Diamond hour markers and rose gold accents amidst the stainless steel make the Ballon Bleu WE902030 unique in the collection.

Written By: Jean Flint

Are diamonds a girl’s best friend? Because they’re definitely an attention grabber. Just take a look at the Cartier Ballon Bleu Silver Diamond Dial Rose Gold Women’s Watch WE902030; it has 11 round-cut diamonds accompanying a Roman numeral twelve as hour markers. Does it have your attention? I thought so.

The Ballon Bleu collection as a whole is visually distinguished by a classic round case and protected, fluted crown with a blue synthetic spinel cabochon gemstone. What sets the Ballon Bleu WE902030 apart from its fellows are its unique combination of silver-toned dial, stainless steel case, stainless steel bracelet with 18k rose gold accents, and, of course, the diamonds.

You’ve seen gold watches before, but maybe you haven’t seen quite as many watches with rose gold. The faint red-ish hint gives the Ballon Bleu WE902030 a little extra something special that will really make it stand out from other timepieces on the market. Another model, the Ballon Bleu WE902025 is the same size and design of watch but is all rose gold plate instead of just accented with it – which doesn’t have quite the same effect as a few bright spots gleaming amidst the cooler stainless steel.

Centered on the dial are Cartier’s trademark blued-steel hour and minute hands and a 12-zone guilloché circle, which stand out easily against the silver. The beautiful sun-ray effect of that inner circle is  edged with small black marks to supplement the diamond hour markers, covered by a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal face.

Pros:

• Reliable, battery operated quartz movement made in Switzerland
• 18k rose gold crown and first three inner links of the wristband to either side of the bezel
• 11 round-cut diamonds
• Small and subtle in size, the case only 28.6 millimeters (1.126 inches) in diameter
• Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal
• Splashes of blue against the silver-tone dial and rose gold crown

Cons:

• Doesn’t have a second hand or a date display, unlike some other Ballon Bleu models
• Water resistant to only 30 meters (98 feet)
• Rich materials make it an expensive item

The Ballon Bleu WE902030 is available on the Cartier website for $8500, which is pretty expensive. Other timepieces in the Ballon Bleu collection are available with all Roman numeral markers instead of 11 diamonds. For example, the Ballon Bleu W6920034 has the same rose gold highlights and a pink mother-of-pearl dial rather than a silver-toned one, and costs almost $1500 less… But sometimes a girl has expensive taste in best friends.

The first three inner watchband links on either side of the bezel are rose gold plated; the rest are stainless steel.