(Bloomberg) — A record-breaking collection of vintage Cartier watches, spanning nearly a century of the house’s most coveted designs, will be auctioned at Sotheby’s, with sales beginning in Hong Kong later this month.
Entitled “The Shapes of Cartier: The Finest Vintage Grouping Ever Assembled”, the selection is expected to raise more than US$15 million throughout the house’s auctions in Hong Kong, Geneva and New York until December. It brings together more than 300 watches and represents a quarter of a century of collecting by a single connoisseur, who sought out the best examples from each of Cartier’s historic ateliers in Paris, London and New York.
The crown jewel of the Hong Kong lot is a rare 1987 yellow gold Cartier London Crash, believed to be one of just three produced that year, estimated at between $400,000 and $800,000. The Crash, with its deliberately distorted case, is one of watchmaking’s most infamous designs, originally conceived in 1967 at Cartier’s Bond Street ateliers. Its melted, asymmetrical silhouette was no accident, being the brainchild of Jean-Jacques Cartier and his chief designer Rupert Emmerson. Fewer than a dozen original examples are believed to have been produced between 1967 and 1970.
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In addition to the Crash, the collection encompasses all of Cartier’s era-defining designs — from the Santos, the brand’s first wristwatch, to the Tank, Baignoire, Cintrée and Octagonal.
“This collection is notable not only for its breadth, but for its depth — especially in its unprecedented assemblage of Cartier London pieces, many of which are among the most important examples to ever appear on the market,” Sam Hines, global chairman of Sotheby’s watches division, said in a statement.
Cartier, the crown jewel of Johann Rupert’s Cie Financière Richemont SA, is experiencing a cultural renaissance. In its last fiscal year, Richemont reported record revenue, exceeding 20 billion Swiss francs ($25 billion), with the Jewelery Maisons division — led by Cartier — as the main driver of growth. Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy estimates that Cartier alone accounts for 53% of Richemont’s total sales.
This financial power is being turbocharged by a generational shift in desire. Once the domain of established collectors, Cartier has become the great symbol of luxury for Millennials and Generation Z. Its watches appear on the wrists of Lana Del Rey and Dua Lipa, while Timothée Chalamet and Dwyane Wade have consolidated their cool credentials among men as well.
Vintage Cartier, in particular, has become a collector’s ultimate obsession. Unlike the heavily speculated sports watch market, Cartier’s historic pieces reward in-depth knowledge — of obscure references, contrasts, hallmarks and the provenance of the ateliers.
Cartier London’s production, carried out during the maison’s most experimental phase between 1967 and 1974 under the command of Jean-Jacques Cartier, is considered one of the most creatively daring works in 20th century watchmaking: pieces such as the Decagonal, Octagonal and Asymétrique were produced in tiny runs and rarely appeared at auctions.
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After the first lot in Hong Kong on April 24, Sotheby’s Important Watches auctions will follow in Geneva on May 10 and in New York on June 15.
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