Unique Cartier ‘Cheich’ Watch Could Fetch $400,000 In Sotheby’s Paris Auction

The Cartier Cheich is as a lot a trophy as it’s a timepiece. It was awarded to the one who received two consecutive Paris-Dakar races, in what was often called the Cartier Problem. A feat believed to be unattainable till Belgian motorbike racer, Gaston Rahier, received the Paris-Dakar in 1984 and in 1985, making him the primary and solely winner of the Cartier Problem. His reward was being the only real recipient of the uniquely designed Cartier Cheich watch celebrating his achievement.

It can seem in public for the primary time in 40 years as the highest lot in Sotheby’s Paris Fine Watches auction. On-line bidding will open September 16 with the ultimate dwell sale on September 30. This hybrid bidding mannequin has been utilized by the public sale home because the coronavirus pandemic. Its estimate is $200,000 – $400,000.

Cartier specializes within the design of watch instances and the Cartier Cheich is one in all its most celebrated and distinctive designs.

The Cartier Cheich was created to mirror the spirit of the unique Paris-Dakar, a grueling 10,000-kilometre (6,200 miles) race from Paris via the Sahara Desert to the Dakar, Senegal. It was open to amateurs and professionals in three classes: vehicles, vehicles and bikes. Ending the race was thought-about an achievement a lot much less successful in two consecutive years. Lately, the title of the occasion has modified to the Dakar Rally and its course altered as a result of chance of terrorist assaults and the intense issue of the unique course.

The Cheich Design

The Cartier Cheich was designed by Jacques Diltoer, former artistic director of Cartier and Alain-Dominique Perrin, Cartier president on the time. The design was impressed by the rally’s emblem that includes the silhouetted face of a Tuareg (a local of the Sahara Desert) carrying a “cheich,” a conventional piece of material worn across the head as safety in opposition to the solar.

4 fashions have been created. The unique two Cartier Cheich watches have been designed in 1983, for a female and male winner. The male timepiece was awarded to Rahier. The smaller feminine watch was by no means awarded as a result of there was no different consecutive winner of the race. A 3rd was created in 1985 for an additional doable future champion. A fourth piece was provided by Perrin to Thierry Sabine, who based the race. Nonetheless, it’s believed that this watch could have been given to Hubert Auriol, a well-known French motorcycle race driver, however it’s now thought-about misplaced. Manufacturing of the Cartier Cheich led to 1986 after Sabine was killed in a helicopter crash in Mali brought on by a sandstorm. The opposite two Cartier Cheich watches stay in Cartier’s assortment.

This leaves the Rahier’s watch as the one one that can ever be in the marketplace. It’s being provided by the household of the motorcross champion.

Whereas the 4 watches have been created for the Cartier Problem and shared similarities in its general aesthetic, every had its personal particulars. The Cartier Cheich being bought has a curved triangular form surrounded by the frilly cheich design in yellow, rose and white gold, the “trinity,” which signify the Cartier image of affection, friendship and constancy. The distinctive form of the case meant that conventional lugs couldn’t be used for attaching the leather-based strap. As a substitute, the again of the case was carved to permit the strap to slip via the case. Inside, the lid is marked Trophée Paris Alger Dakar beneath the Cartier signature. The dial is basically within the conventional Cartier signature type, with a middle rail and baton and Roman Numerals as hour markers.

The watch is available in its unique field: a bespoke presentation case in Cartier signature purple with gold detailing.

The watch had appeared in Monaco in July and might be proven in Paris previous to the public sale.