It's rare that a large amount of Cartier vintage watches make an appearance at the same time but that's what happened this weekend when 88 #cartierwatches all part of a single collection, appeared at auction in Monaco.
Hard to pick a single favourite but I thought I'd start by sharing the six #CartierLondon ones made under my grandfather #JeanJacquesCartier in the 1960s and 70s:
- a yellow gold Octagonal
- a white gold Maxi Oval
- a yellow gold Decagonal
- a white gold Round
- a classic yellow gold Tank
- a yellow gold Octagonal Allongée
Those eagle-eyed amongst you might have noticed a seventh image of a watch that was not made in London or over this time period: a 1991 Paris #crashwatch . Including it in this group as it was a revival of one of the iconic #CartierLondonwatch designs first conceived in the Swinging Sixties above the showroom in #175newbondstreet .
I've talked about the origin story of this watch before, and thanks to @rescapement for summarising it as follows in an article this weekend:
"If I have one dying wish, I hope that this is the last auction catalog that parrots the urban legend that the Cartier Crash was inspired by a car crash in London. In the 2019 book The Cartiers, Francesca Cartier Brickell (a Rescapement Recommended Read) dispelled the common origin story of the Cartier Crash: it was never the result of a car crash melting a Cartier Baignoire Allongée, but instead the product of a collaboration between Jean-Jacques Cartier (who ran the Cartier London branch from the 1940s through the 1970s) and designer #RupertEmmerson. Sometimes, a great design is a great design — it doesn't need some apocryphal story to raise its stature. Such is the case with the Cartier Crash."
Thanks to @monacolegendgroup for the wonderful images, and the chance to see — even online — so many vintage watches in one place. Given how rare many of these watches were, it was a real treat... I'll give the sold prices in a comment below but first of all, when it comes to watch design, which of these #CartierLondonwatches would you choose? Classic or more unusual? Would love to hear your favourite(s) in the comments below.
Image Gallery
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