The legendary Cartier Cheich, arguably the rarest Cartier watch in the world, was created as a trophy for the gruelling Paris-Dakar Rally. Now, a unique white gold version auctioned at Sotheby’s Hong Kong has become the most valuable Cartier ever sold. Get all the details below.
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Started in 1978 by the French adventurer Thierry Sabine after he got lost in the Libyan desert, the Paris-Dakar Rally has a fearsome reputation as the most brutal off-road motor race on earth.
In 1983, the French house of Cartier became involved when then-CEO Alain Dominique Perrin and rally founder Sabine conceived an idea for ‘The Cartier Challenge’, which required a competitor to win back-to-back titles in two consecutive years within the same vehicle category.
And the prize? Not a trophy, but a one-of-a-kind Cartier watch, created especially by the Maison for the unlikely double winner of the nearly 10,000 km race, which took drivers through deserts, mountain passes and some of the most inhospitable terrain known to man.
“Cartier knew it couldn’t be just another watch, so instead of looking at their existing designs, they turned to the very thing that made the rally legendary: the desert,” says Sotheby’s cataloguer, Carl Chen, of the design for the unique prize. “Because the rally cut across the Sahara, Cartier took inspiration from the people who know the desert best: the Tuaregs, also known as the Blue Men of the desert. They wore a distinctive blue headscarf called, in French, the cheich, and Cartier transformed [the shape of] that scarf into a watch case, and one of the most unusual watch designs was born.”
In 1984 and 1985, the famous Belgian motocross racer Gaston Rahier won the Paris-Dakar Rally back-to-back, becoming the first person to ever complete the Cartier challenge. He would also be the first and last person to receive the Cartier Ceich as a prize – the challenge ended in 1986 after Thierry Sabine was sadly killed in a helicopter crash in Mali during a sandstorm.
Because of this, the design of the Cheich itself has passed into infamy. Only four Cartier Cheich watches were ever created. Gaston Rahier’s model was eventually sold by Sotheby’s in September 2022 for over one million euros, and it remains in private hands today.
The second model belonged to Thierry Sabine, and is still missing after his untimely death. Two more were made by Cartier, including a smaller women’s iteration set with diamonds intended for a female winner of the Rally, and are both safely stashed away in the official Cartier Collection Archives.
That was supposed to be the end of the Cheich’s story. Until 2010, when Cartier “broke their own rule”, says Chen, and revived the design as a special one-off commission for the noted collector Giorgio Seragnoli, who was famed for his love of Cartier pieces – but only ever bought them in white metal.
The special white gold timepiece created for Seragnoli was engraved with ‘Number 1’ on its case back, proving it to be the first and only example ever made.
Now, this incredible ‘unicorn’ watch, which was auctioned at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong last week has officially become the most valuable Cartier watch ever sold at auction – achieving a record HK$26, 520,000 / US$3,413,124 before the final hammer came down
“The results achieved today demonstrate the continued strength and sophistication of the global collectors’ market for truly exceptional watches,” said Sam Hines, Global Chairman of Watches at Sotheby’s, of the remarkable sale.
“The 16-minute bidding battle for the unique white gold Cartier Cheich drew participation from collectors across regions and channels, underscoring the international appeal of rare, museum-quality timepieces with outstanding provenance and historical importance. Setting a new world auction record for a Cartier wristwatch, this result further reinforces the enduring demand for therarest examples that combine rarity, innovation, and collecting significance.”
Find out more about the elusive Cartier Cheich below:
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