One of the Rarest—and Coolest—Watches Ever Sold for $1.1 Million

Watches usually are not uncommon prizes for race winners. For over 30 years, Rolex has given winners of The 24 Hours of Daytona the watch named after the course. Winners of the Indy 500 have a special-edition Tag Heuer ready for them after the checkered flag. Nonetheless, these watches are usually branded with a brand, and never a lot else. Cartier took far more dramatic inspiration from the Paris-Dakar insignia.

Fairly than engraving some branding onto the caseback, Cartier turned the complete watch into the race’s brand: an individual sporting a cheich (the fabric wrapped across the head to protect in opposition to the solar and sand). Becoming for Cartier—which is understood for its distinctive fashions and, as of late, public sale home darlings just like the Crash and Pebble—the watch is not like the rest in existence. The Cheich options all of the layers and folds of the headwear made out of a mixture of white, yellow, and rose gold. If the Crash is beloved due to its liquid, gooey form, the Cheich appears to dial that impact as much as 100. The detailed folds seem as if they might instantly begin billowing within the wind. The watch has what collectors name “wrist presence” out the wazoo.

This piece is estimated to promote someplace within the vary of €200,000 to €400,000 this fall, however public sale homes usually understate the true worth of a watch to gin up curiosity. And whereas the watch’s atypical form will assist get bidding going, its rarity may also play an enormous position right here. There are solely 4 Cheich watches in existence. Considered one of them—rumored to have been awarded to Hubert Auriol within the early ‘80s, and now thought of misplaced—is extra fantasy than actuality at this level. The opposite two belong to Cartier, which intends to maintain them completely in its assortment. The watch up for public sale, which comes straight from Rahier’s property, is being touted as the one one a hopeful collector will ever have the prospect of proudly owning.

Courtesy Sotheby’s