Cartier

Cartier

Crash ‘Paris’

A limited edition yellow gold wristwatch, Circa 1991

Dial: white

Calibre: cal. 160 mechanical, 17 jewels

Case: 18k yellow gold, case back secured by 4 screws

Case number: limited edition 290-91 and A108586

Closure: tan Cartier alligator strap and 18k yellow gold Cartier Crash buckle

Size: 38.5 mm length x 22.5 mm width

Signed: case, dial and movement

Accessories: none

By now, everyone knows the Crash, and everyone knows the famous legend behind its creation. Perhaps the most instantly recognisable, iconic and disruptive shape ever designed not just by Cartier but by any watch manufacturer, the tale goes that a Baignoire wristwatch became badly mangled and distorted after being involved in a fiery car crash. When the watch was brought back to Cartier London for servicing, instead of repairing the watch, the watchmakers were instead greatly inspired by the design. Though intriguing and dramatic, this tale is unfortunately no more than an urban myth.

To fully understand the Crash, one must first understand Cartier London. In the same footprint as the present day Bond Street boutique, there stood a very different building over a century ago. Despite gaining acclaim in the watch community for their work in the 60s, Cartier on Bond Street first opened its doors long before then in 1902, but with most of its operations revolving around jewellery. However, unknowingly to anyone at the time, including those working at Cartier, the groundwork was already being laid for what was to follow. The top floor of the Bond Street building, then more of a townhouse than a luxurious retail space, was not dedicated to sales or clients, but instead was a true melting pot-style workshop. The entire design process, from the initial client commission, to sketching, to crafting, to finishing, was often done all on Bond Street with the help of enlisted goldsmiths, jewellers and craftsmen. From the start, Cartier London was not just independent and autonomous, but also lean and maneuverable with the times. Only in a setting like this could a truly radical design be born.

For the first half-century, Cartier London would only sell wristwatches imported from their French or Swiss manufacturers. However in 1964, the Cartier branches of New York, Paris and London were split up after the death of Pierre Cartier, which resulted in even more autonomy on Bond Street, just in time for the Swinging Sixties. The new head of the London Branch, a young fourth generation family man named Jean-Jacques Cartier, decided that they should begin producing watches locally. At the same time, a tidal wave of rebellion, freedom and counter culture was sweeping through London, a product of the pent up emotion from the post-war slump that had just passed. Cartier always had a way of distilling the essence of the period into their classic designs, and if the Tank was a symbol of the Roaring Twenties or Les Années Folles, then the Crash is the definitive icon of the Swinging Sixties.

Jean-Jacques Cartier had always preferred spending time in the upstairs workshop than downstairs in the showrooms, and he knew he wanted to make a watch with both the rebellious spirit of the period, but still elegant and chic enough to be worthy of the Cartier name. He started with the Oval, one of London’s most popular cases, and by pinching the ends and putting a kink in the middle, a new radical shape was slowly born. Several prototype shapes and dials were created by his closest collaborator and designer Rupert Emmerson, one of them even featuring a cracked dial to simulate the effect of an actual “crashed” watch. Indeed, what they eventually arrived at was a watch that looked every bit the part like it came from a car crash, but in reality, was an entirely and meticulously intentional creation. Jean-Jacques Cartier and Rupert Emmerson had not only achieved their ode to the Swinging Sixties, they created a brand defining masterpiece.

The Crash, as a result, must be seen as a product decades in the making, encompassing all of the factors which made Cartier London special. Not only is the design timeless, beautiful and as disruptive as the day it was launched, it is intrinsically tied to the most soulful Cartier location of all. Starting from the very foundation of the Bond Street branch, where Cartier London’s autonomous attitude was first established, to the splitting up of the regional branches, to Jean-Jacques’ decision to start making their own wristwatches, to the Swinging Sixties, the history of the Crash is the history of Cartier London. This heritage and spirit can be felt in every single example.

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Although Cartier has created numerous iconic model lines across its famed history, the Crash is indisputably its most disruptive model produced. The exaggerated design epitomizes the defiant attitude of the 60s and will later become a symbol of creative freedom and non-conformism.

Known collectively by the watch community as the “Paris Crash”, the present example was the first Crash that was offered by Cartier after its initial unveiling in their London boutique in 1967. Its limited production run only saw around 400 of these examples ever made. Cased in 18k yellow gold, this iteration of the Crash is coveted for its Paris signed dial.

The case of the present example, which to many is the focal point of the watch, has oxidised handsomely over the years, which implies that it has not seen a polishing wheel for years, maybe decades. Favorite among actors and creatives, from Tyler the Creator to Timothée Chalamet, the Cartier Crash has certainly cemented itself as a grail of grails.