Watch Paparazzi

Entrepreneur Bernard Fornas spotted wearing Cartier

Bernard Fornas, the entrepreneur who served as Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Richemont Group and played a defining role in Cartier's commercial and creative resurgence during the 2000s and early 2010s, was recently photographed wearing a rose gold Cartier Ballon Bleu de Cartier Flying Tourbillon, reference W6920104. That a man so intimately linked to the maison's legacy would choose this particular reference speaks volumes about the watch itself.

The Ballon Bleu de Cartier Flying Tourbillon ref. W6920104 is built around a manually wound movement certified with the prestigious Poinçon de Genève — the Geneva Seal — guaranteeing exceptional finishing standards across every component. The movement carries an individual number, underscoring its status as a bespoke haute horlogerie object rather than a production-line complication. The tourbillon cage is crafted in the shape of a "C", serving a dual purpose as the running seconds display — a subtle, intelligent piece of design that rewards close inspection. The slate-grey galvanic guilloché dial provides a textured, light-catching backdrop, offset by the characteristic blued-steel sword-shaped hands that have defined Cartier's dial vocabulary for generations.

The Ballon Bleu collection, introduced in 2007, quickly became one of Cartier's most commercially successful and critically respected modern lines. The integration of a flying tourbillon into its rounded, crown-integrated case elevated the reference into Fine Watchmaking territory while retaining the collection's signature aesthetic coherence. This rose gold tourbillon variant has since been discontinued, which only sharpens collector interest.

Fornas, who steered Cartier through a period of significant global expansion before ascending to the co-leadership of Richemont, represents the executive inner circle of the watch and jewellery world. His choice of a discontinued, Geneva Seal-certified Cartier tourbillon is a reminder that industry insiders often favour depth over spectacle.

On the secondary market, discontinued Cartier flying tourbillon references in precious metal have held firm. The W6920104 in rose gold commands serious premiums over its original retail positioning, reflecting both the scarcity of discontinued haute horlogerie Cartier references and growing collector appetite for the brand's complications.