{"id":5725,"date":"2026-04-28T19:40:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/styched.com\/?p=5725"},"modified":"2026-04-28T19:40:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:40:54","slug":"this-cartier-crash-watch-just-sold-for-a-historic-2-2-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/styched.com\/?p=5725","title":{"rendered":"This Cartier Crash Watch Just Sold For A Historic $2.2 Million"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s a jaw-dropping sense of form to the stunning Cartier Crash Watch<\/a>, and it just sold for the blockbuster price tag of $2.2 million, making it the most expensive Cartier watch ever sold.<\/p>\n

\"\"
(Sotheby’s)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"
(Sotheby’s)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The timepiece is also but one of more than 300 Cartier watches<\/a> being auctioned off globally by Sotheby’s now through December, an elusive auction series trumpeted by the company as “the world\u2019s largest and most comprehensive collection of vintage Cartier watches, assembled over decades.” As Robb Report<\/em> notes<\/a>, 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. <\/p>\n

\"\"
(Sotheby’s)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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 Vend\u00f4me-style concealed lugs and a caseback bearing (as Sotheby’s notes) details including “London hallmarks for 18k gold and date letter \u2019N\u2019 for 1987,” along with a Cartier London engraved script notation. <\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div>\n
\n
View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Sotheby's Watches (@sothebyswatches)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n