This Cartier Crash Watch Just Sold For A Historic $2.2 Million
The ultra-exclusive timepiece is now the most expensive Cartier wristwatch ever.
There’s a jaw-dropping sense of form to the stunning Cartier Crash Watch, and it just sold for the blockbuster price tag of $2.2 million, making it the most expensive Cartier watch ever sold.
Auctioned off as part of Sotheby’s Important Watches sale last weekend in Hong Kong, the avant-garde timepiece made horological history. The collector’s dream watch was billed as a “rare and iconic limited edition yellow gold distorted oval wristwatch with its original gold deployant buckle,” and was one of only three produced in 1987 featuring its incredibly distinctive design, as Cartier historians discovered around 2017.
The timepiece is also but one of more than 300 Cartier watches being auctioned off globally by Sotheby’s now through December, an elusive auction series trumpeted by the company as “the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of vintage Cartier watches, assembled over decades.” As Robb Report notes, the sale wasn’t the only Cartier watch to fetch a handsome final hammer price, with both the 1973 Cartier London Baignoire and a 1967 Cartier London Tank Normale selling at Sotheby’s Hong Kong.
The Cartier Crash exists in both tan leather and black alligator textured leather strap varieties, with just 400 editions of the black-and-yellow gold timepiece produced in 1987. The auction and the find itself is suitably rare in every way, as the 18-karat yellow gold, distorted oval case is accented by Vendôme-style concealed lugs and a caseback bearing (as Sotheby’s notes) details including “London hallmarks for 18k gold and date letter ’N’ for 1987,” along with a Cartier London engraved script notation.
The timepiece, as Sotheby’s adds, marked the end of a “creative era” for Cartier London designs. For those few privileged watch collectors and enthusiasts, another round of Sotheby’s Cartier luxury watch auctions are set to begin in about 12 days.
The $2.2 million final price tag and its exclusivity echo Cartier’s history dating back to the late 1960s, the luxury auction house notes. “The present watch faithfully retains the dimensions of the original 1967 Crash, with a ‘Cartier London’ signature in a similar elegant script as the earliest examples,” Sotheby’s said, noting that former Wright & Davies craftsman Arthur Withers hued closely to its original specifications. “Despite its unconventional origins, the Cartier Crash has endured for more than half a century, ensuring its place as one of the most collectible and celebrated Cartier timepieces.” Well-said, Sotheby’s, with a daring final sale price to match.