Short answer
There is no Cartier reference called 1701. The number is a factory or seller code attached to replica listings, and the watch behind it almost never has the mechanism that makes an Astrotourbillon an Astrotourbillon. You get the silhouette, the Roman numerals and the open aperture. You do not get the rotating carriage with the balance wheel riding on the end of it. If that distinction matters, stop reading. If you only care about the look, here is what actually shows up in the box.
Why the real one is hard to copy
Cartier's Astrotourbillon, launched in 2010 on the Calibre de Cartier, does something unusual. The balance wheel sits at the tip of a long carriage that sweeps around the dial once per minute. It is not a classic tourbillon, where the whole cage spins in place. The carriage travels. That forces the gear train, the bridges and the dial opening to be laid out around a moving part, and it leaves a big window into the movement.
Replicas cheat here. Most mount a generic open-heart balance wheel or an off-the-shelf Chinese tourbillon in roughly the right spot and hide the rest under a decorative plate. From three feet away it reads fine. Under a loupe, the carriage is not going anywhere.
What the 1701 code really signals
Factory codes are internal to the replica trade. They change, they get reused, and two sellers can ship very different watches under the same number. Treat 1701 as a listing label, not a spec sheet. Ask what movement is inside, what the case measures, and whether the aperture actually moves.
Tell-tale signs on a fake
- The dial cutout shows a cage spinning in one spot instead of an arm carrying the balance around the dial.
- Case thickness. Replica cases often run 1 to 2 mm fatter to swallow whatever movement is inside.
- The crown cabochon. Cartier uses a blue spinel or sapphire. Fakes use glass, plastic, or a glued bead sitting proud of the crown.
- Print quality on the numerals. Look at the VII and the X. Edges should be crisp, not fuzzy or thick.
- Hands. Blued steel has a deep, even tone. Painted blue looks flat and slightly purple in daylight.
- Caseback engraving. Serial numbers that repeat across listings, wrong fonts, shallow stamping.
- Weight and sound. A cheap rotor rattles. A finished movement does not.
Movement reality
Cartier builds this caliber in-house. Replicas use Seagull, Hangzhou or similar third-party tourbillon and open-heart movements, usually at 21,600 or 28,800 vph. They can run well for years. They can also arrive with a bent hairspring and no service path, because most watchmakers will not touch a counterfeit and spare parts do not exist.
The part nobody mentions
Customs. Importing counterfeit goods into the US is illegal, and CBP seizes shipments without paying the buyer back. If a package gets stopped, your money is gone. Resale is the other half. No legitimate dealer will service it, authenticate it, or take it in trade.
Ask before you spend
- Does the balance wheel travel around the dial, or sit in one spot?
- Which movement, and what is the beat rate?
- Measured case thickness, not the listed number?
- What happens if it arrives dead?
If a seller cannot answer the first two, the watch is decoration. That is fine if decoration is what you want. Just know which one you are buying.