Cartier is in my top three watch brands of all time, alongside Swatch and the other one is the ever-changing free spot, multiple brands spend time in there depending on my mood. But Cartier is a firm mainstay. Cartier with respect to their watches, have for the most part, stuck to what they do best, beautiful design. Whether its the Tank Louis, the Crash, the Tank Americaine, or the Santos, Cartier design very elegant watches.
My dream Cartier collection...
If you want to spend some time gawping at your phone or computer, have a look through the archives at some of the more unusual and rare Cartier watches, there are some duds, but also some absolutely beautiful and unusual pieces. One that is probably on the normal side of the unusual scale is the Cartier Pebble.
The Beautiful vintage Cartier Pebble... hens teeth levels of rare...
The Cartier Pebble is estimated to exist in a rumoured 6 examples in the ‘large’ size. Putting it right near the top of the Cartier rarity table. One sold at Phillips just last year for CHF 403,000 (£348,800), and another sold just a month later for CHF 260,000 (£225,250). And now, to commemorate this beautiful and rare Cartier, the brand has released a Limited Edition (surprise surprise) run of 150, all individually numbers and all in 18K Gold.
The gorgeous new re-edition... part of the infamous Privee Collection...
The watch, like the Crash, was created by Cartier London, back in the 1960’s. And that design is still holding strong, whilst unusual, it is also charming and beautiful, and completely evokes the Cartier London design language. This modern iteration is a modern interpretation of the original ‘Large’ model. Whilst around 6 examples of the large models are known to have been made, there are rumours that a limited quantity may have been released in smaller sizes. Whilst I can understand why Cartier may have based this new LE on the confirmed size, or the size that would be more marketable to the present day, I and I am sure many other Cartier fanboys would have much preferred a 34 or 33mm Pebble. But given this is firmly in the nearly unobtainable grail section of my brain, I would still like it to be the size I would want should I be so lucky…
This is a model from Cartier's rich catalogue that I am surprised about. What surprises me is that a watch like this was released in limited quantities at the time, and never made its way into Cartiers main catalogue. This watch is neither too technically complex in terms of movement to be able to be produced in large quantities, nor too rare in terms of the materials. It is beautiful, playful and still completely elegant, and a lot of both men and women (myself included) would love to be able to walk into a Cartier boutique and pick one of these up.
The watch comes in, as mentioned, 150 examples, due to release next month, and coming in at £40,000, I do not expect these to hang around. If at least half haven’t already been allocated to Cartiers VIP Clients I would be very surprised. What makes me sad is that we can account for at least 3 of the original examples, one in the Cartier Collection, the two sold at auction, and no surprises, one on the wrist of the watch God, Mr John Goldberger. With 150 examples being released, and what I can only assume is a precious few that haven’t already been sold, it is likely none of us will be able to ever own one.
This is a photo I WILL recreate at some point... a phenomenal watch and the best cocktail...
Whilst I adore the Cartier Privee Collection, it always pains me that they pay tribute to the vintage watches on which they are based, which were at the time released in very small quantities. I understand it symbolises rarity and creativity, I really want a Pebble.
Felix Arnold
Editor