Details
Cartier
CARTIER FDR VICTORY CLOCK | Gifted to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt by Pierre Cartier | 1943
A Magnificent and Unique Silver, Ebonite and Nephrite Eight-Day Going Five-Time-Zone Desk Clock
CARTIER, EUROPEAN WATCH & CLOCK CO., 1930 - 1943
impressed Cartier, numbered 4209 and signed BONS SOUHAITS
2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm) diameter
Of upright design, the square ebonite case its sides and top accented by silver geometric banding with ribbed nephrite panels at intervals, surmounted by a two-tiered nephrite base, each level trimmed with silver, the lower corners edged with nephrite panels, the upper tier accented by groups of 3 nephrite cabochons at intervals, cream colored dial centered by a nephrite panel with applied gold ”Cartier” logo, square gold sugarloaf cabochons in each corner, 3 square sugarloaf nephrite cabochons bezel-set in yellow gold at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock respectively, pierced silver hands outlined with black enamel, silver roman numerals applied to the case. 4 subsidiary dials with time zones for ”London_Paris” ”Berlin _Rome” ”San Francisco””Tokyo” each with black painted arabic chapters and pierced yellow gold black enamel hands.
Original case.
MOVEMENT
Eight-day nickel lever movement signed European Watch & Clock Co, Inc., bi-metallic compensation balance, precision regulator, 13 jewels, adjusted to heat and cold; the five dials driven by means of a single vertical axle converging with the central underdial wheel (for mean-time), which in turn powers the subsidiary hour dials by one-to-one force through radiating wheels, each set by a recessed disc in the back of the case.
DIAL
Brushed silvered dial, central nephrite lozenge, stylized pierced silver mean-time hands, corresponding silver Roman numerals to the bezel, the four quadrants of the mean-time dial indicating time in
• London-Paris
• Berlin-Rome
• San Francisco
• Tokyo
each with stylized numerals and similarly styled pierced gold champlevé black enamel hands, the four subsidiary time dials separated by three sugarloaf nephrite cabochons within gold collets, with gold sugarloaf cabochons to each corner of the mean-time dial, dial signed Cartier in gold.
CASE
Massive rectangular ebonite case, square upper form applied with silver geometric banding linked by ribbed nephrite panels, supported by a two-tier rectangular silver bordered ebonite base, decorated with a silver band of sugarloaf cabochons above trios of sugarloaf nephrite cabochons, the bottom tier further with silver border, the corners fitted with calibré-set nephrite tiles, the front fitted with a silver plaque inscribed ”L’HEURE DE LA VICTOIRE DANS LE MONDE” HOMMAGE A SON ARTISAN, LE PRESIDENT DES ETATS UNIS, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, the back fitted with a panel mounted on the lower left with clip to store the Cartier key numbered 2731 to match the movement, attached to the clock by means of a security chain, the upper left corner with exhibition sticker printed“Estate of Eleanor Roosevelt, No 2345, Hyde Park, N. Y.,”the bottom tier further fitted with silver-edged winding hole, the case stamped in several places with Paris silver marks and maker’s mark MC for Maurice Coüet, the reverse signed Cartier 2731, Made in France, the base also numbered 2470. Measurements: height 22cm., width 20cm., depth 11cm.
PRESENTATION BOX
Original red Morocco leather Cartier display box with gilt-tooled borders, marked with gilt letters F. D. R. to the upper left corner, with red leather carrying strap, the reverse bearing exhibition sticker printed “Estate of Eleanor Roosevelt, No 2345, Hyde Park, N. Y.”Measurements: height 26cm., width 25cm., depth 16cm.
CATALOGUE NOTE
The Cartier FDR Victory Clock is made of silver, yellow gold, enamel, ebonite and nephrite and contains a main dial for mean-time in New York/Washington, D.C., and four subsidiary dials, which are labeled to keep time in London/Paris, Berlin/Rome, San Francisco and Tokyo, all important strategic locations for the Allied forces in World War II. The hours of each of the individual timezones can be set separately, and the minutes advance in unison. A magnificent, unique and historic Five Time Zone, Eight-Day Cartier clock, given as a personal gift by Pierre Cartier to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the thirtysecond President of the United States, in 1943. Together with its original Cartier red leather presentation box, inscribed“ F.D.R.,”the clock is an extraordinary and historically significant Cartier time piece and artifact of American history.
The signed Cartier clock is geometric and masculine, in black and green shades reminiscent of camouflage and militaria, which was appropriate for the ethos of the time in which it was gifted in 1943; Paris was still occupied by Nazi Germany and the United States was in the midst of one of its biggest military challenges, having deployed ten million service people. Pierre Cartier, who ran the firm’s Fifth Avenue boutique in New York, included a personal letter to the President with this gift, which was presented on December 20, 1943, and Roosevelt replied in turn. The original correspondence, housed in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York, provides insight into the thoughts of these two great men during a difficult time for both of their nations. In his letter, Pierre Cartier expresses his gratitude to President Roosevelt: “My countrymen are particularly grateful for what you are doing for them, and we realize that it will be thanks to your efforts and marvelous leadership that France will again live.” Cartier continues, “I have thought that a clock marking the time in the different parts of the earth where the glorious American armies are fighting –a clock which therefore will mark the hour of victory –might be a useful addition to your desk.” President Roosevelt, in his letter from the White House thanking Pierre Cartier, replies, “And, too, I am intrigued by the differing times of world capitals. Soon, very soon, I hope that Paris will resume her place among the free capitals of the world. All of us are doing our best toward that end.”
That end would be achieved the following year, on June 6, 1944, marking the beginning of the Battle of Normandy. This effort, led by President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, would succeed in ultimately liberating mainland Europe from Nazi occupation. Pierre Cartier’s wish to see a free France would come to fruition in August of 1944. Sadly, President Roosevelt would not live to see the Allied victory in World War II. He died on April 12, 1945, five months before the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan’s surrender on September 2, 1945.
A plaque under the dial of the clock contains a personal inscription to the President:“L’Heure de la Victoire dans le Monde’Hommage à son Artisan, le Président des Etats Unis, Franklin D. Roosevelt.”(‘The Hour of Victory in the World,’Hommage to its Craftsman, the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt).
President Roosevelt wrote, “I am taking it to Hyde Park to put on the west mantelpiece in the big library where I can always see it.”After President Roosevelt died in 1945, the President’s son, John Roosevelt, chose to keep it. When his mother’s estate was auctioned in New York by Hammer Galleries in 1964, John chose to exhibit the clock alongside her belongings, but it was not offered for sale. On the back of the timepiece is a sticker, reading “Estate of Eleanor Roosevelt, Hyde Park, N.Y.”from that exhibition and auction (see detail in the image below). The clock was sold privately and then sold at Sotheby’s on December 4, 2007, to its current owner, a private collector.
The World War II era has been celebrated widely over the years, including in Tom Brokaw’s book The Greatest Generation and Ken Burns’documentary “The War” on PBS. It was a time of great sacrifice for all Americans, united in a common cause. President Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only president to be elected to four consecutive terms. He served as U.S. president from 1933 to 1943 and is considered, along with Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, to be one of the three greatest presidents. According to Gallup at the time of the Sotheby’s 2007 sale, Roosevelt was the sixth most admired person from the 20th century by U.S. citizens.
The Cartier FDR Victory Clock relates directly to the historical context in which it was created. Following the May 1940 invasion by Nazi forces, France was divided into two sections. The northern region was occupied and controlled by the Germans, while the southern region was governed by the sympathetic Vichy-based regime led by Marshal Philippe Pétain. In both regions, French officials were forced to hand over civilians deemed “undesirable” by the Nazis. Cartier’s offices in Paris were not exempt from the German aggression. The store on Rue de la Paix remained open with a nominal amount of property, but the most valuable pieces were sent to the temporary office in Biarritz in the Vichy-controlled region.
Their London workshop served as a wartime production facility for the Allied forces and was responsible for the manufacture of items as diverse as airplane parts and photographic equipment for the Royal Navy.
As a further gesture of their support for the Allied struggle, Cartier extended the use of several of their facilities to General de Gaulle, then leading the Free French Government movement from London: the New Bond Street office, the company car, a Rolls Royce, and even the personal home of the London sales director. The firm was also asked to design the medals worn by de Gaulle’s Free French Forces.
Provenance
Gift from Pierre Cartier to President F.D.R., December 20, 1943.
Sotheby’s, New York, December 4, 2007, lot 226.
Acquired from the above by the present owner (private collector).
Exhibition
EXHIBITIONS OF CLOCK AND CASE:
Denver Art Museum
Denver, Colorado
Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century
November 14, 2014 – March 8, 2015
Cartier Fifth Avenue Mansion
New York, New York
Celebrating 100 Years of Cartier in America
May 1, 2014 – May 21, 2014
Whitney Museum
New York, New York
2014 Biennial
March 7, 2014 – June 1, 2014
New York Historical Society
New York, New York
WWII & NYC
October 5, 2012 – May 27, 2013
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Cartier and America
December 19, 2009 – April 18, 2010
EXHIBITION OF ARCHIVAL DRAWINGS:
Cartier Fifth Avenue Mansion
New York, New York
September 15, 2016 - onwards
Denver Art Museum
Denver, Colorado
Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century
November 14, 2014 – March 8, 2015
Grand Palais
Paris, France
Cartier: Style and History
December 4, 2013 – February 16, 2014
Literature
Cartier: The Impossible Collection
Assouline
by Herve Dewintre
October 2023
Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century
Denver Art Museum
November 14, 2014 – March 8, 2015
Celebrating 100 Years of Cartier in America
Cartier Fifth Avenue Mansion
May 1, 2014 – May 21, 2014
Lest We Forget: Masterpieces of Patriotic Jewelry and Military Decorations
by Judith Price
President of the National Jewelry Institute 2011
Cartier and America
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
December 19, 2009 – April 18, 2010
Cartier Art and Culture
Special Issue 2016 to celebrate the reopening of the landmark Cartier Fifth Avenue Mansion
Page 52
Various Publications
The Cartier FDR Victory Clock has appeared in many articles and online publications through the years.
CARTIER FDR VICTORY CLOCK | Gifted to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt by Pierre Cartier | 1943
A Magnificent and Unique Silver, Ebonite and Nephrite Eight-Day Going Five-Time-Zone Desk Clock
CARTIER, EUROPEAN WATCH & CLOCK CO., 1930 - 1943
impressed Cartier, numbered 4209 and signed BONS SOUHAITS
2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm) diameter
Of upright design, the square ebonite case its sides and top accented by silver geometric banding with ribbed nephrite panels at intervals, surmounted by a two-tiered nephrite base, each level trimmed with silver, the lower corners edged with nephrite panels, the upper tier accented by groups of 3 nephrite cabochons at intervals, cream colored dial centered by a nephrite panel with applied gold ”Cartier” logo, square gold sugarloaf cabochons in each corner, 3 square sugarloaf nephrite cabochons bezel-set in yellow gold at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock respectively, pierced silver hands outlined with black enamel, silver roman numerals applied to the case. 4 subsidiary dials with time zones for ”London_Paris” ”Berlin _Rome” ”San Francisco””Tokyo” each with black painted arabic chapters and pierced yellow gold black enamel hands.
Original case.
MOVEMENT
Eight-day nickel lever movement signed European Watch & Clock Co, Inc., bi-metallic compensation balance, precision regulator, 13 jewels, adjusted to heat and cold; the five dials driven by means of a single vertical axle converging with the central underdial wheel (for mean-time), which in turn powers the subsidiary hour dials by one-to-one force through radiating wheels, each set by a recessed disc in the back of the case.
DIAL
Brushed silvered dial, central nephrite lozenge, stylized pierced silver mean-time hands, corresponding silver Roman numerals to the bezel, the four quadrants of the mean-time dial indicating time in
• London-Paris
• Berlin-Rome
• San Francisco
• Tokyo
each with stylized numerals and similarly styled pierced gold champlevé black enamel hands, the four subsidiary time dials separated by three sugarloaf nephrite cabochons within gold collets, with gold sugarloaf cabochons to each corner of the mean-time dial, dial signed Cartier in gold.
CASE
Massive rectangular ebonite case, square upper form applied with silver geometric banding linked by ribbed nephrite panels, supported by a two-tier rectangular silver bordered ebonite base, decorated with a silver band of sugarloaf cabochons above trios of sugarloaf nephrite cabochons, the bottom tier further with silver border, the corners fitted with calibré-set nephrite tiles, the front fitted with a silver plaque inscribed ”L’HEURE DE LA VICTOIRE DANS LE MONDE” HOMMAGE A SON ARTISAN, LE PRESIDENT DES ETATS UNIS, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, the back fitted with a panel mounted on the lower left with clip to store the Cartier key numbered 2731 to match the movement, attached to the clock by means of a security chain, the upper left corner with exhibition sticker printed“Estate of Eleanor Roosevelt, No 2345, Hyde Park, N. Y.,”the bottom tier further fitted with silver-edged winding hole, the case stamped in several places with Paris silver marks and maker’s mark MC for Maurice Coüet, the reverse signed Cartier 2731, Made in France, the base also numbered 2470. Measurements: height 22cm., width 20cm., depth 11cm.
PRESENTATION BOX
Original red Morocco leather Cartier display box with gilt-tooled borders, marked with gilt letters F. D. R. to the upper left corner, with red leather carrying strap, the reverse bearing exhibition sticker printed “Estate of Eleanor Roosevelt, No 2345, Hyde Park, N. Y.”Measurements: height 26cm., width 25cm., depth 16cm.
CATALOGUE NOTE
The Cartier FDR Victory Clock is made of silver, yellow gold, enamel, ebonite and nephrite and contains a main dial for mean-time in New York/Washington, D.C., and four subsidiary dials, which are labeled to keep time in London/Paris, Berlin/Rome, San Francisco and Tokyo, all important strategic locations for the Allied forces in World War II. The hours of each of the individual timezones can be set separately, and the minutes advance in unison. A magnificent, unique and historic Five Time Zone, Eight-Day Cartier clock, given as a personal gift by Pierre Cartier to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the thirtysecond President of the United States, in 1943. Together with its original Cartier red leather presentation box, inscribed“ F.D.R.,”the clock is an extraordinary and historically significant Cartier time piece and artifact of American history.
The signed Cartier clock is geometric and masculine, in black and green shades reminiscent of camouflage and militaria, which was appropriate for the ethos of the time in which it was gifted in 1943; Paris was still occupied by Nazi Germany and the United States was in the midst of one of its biggest military challenges, having deployed ten million service people. Pierre Cartier, who ran the firm’s Fifth Avenue boutique in New York, included a personal letter to the President with this gift, which was presented on December 20, 1943, and Roosevelt replied in turn. The original correspondence, housed in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York, provides insight into the thoughts of these two great men during a difficult time for both of their nations. In his letter, Pierre Cartier expresses his gratitude to President Roosevelt: “My countrymen are particularly grateful for what you are doing for them, and we realize that it will be thanks to your efforts and marvelous leadership that France will again live.” Cartier continues, “I have thought that a clock marking the time in the different parts of the earth where the glorious American armies are fighting –a clock which therefore will mark the hour of victory –might be a useful addition to your desk.” President Roosevelt, in his letter from the White House thanking Pierre Cartier, replies, “And, too, I am intrigued by the differing times of world capitals. Soon, very soon, I hope that Paris will resume her place among the free capitals of the world. All of us are doing our best toward that end.”
That end would be achieved the following year, on June 6, 1944, marking the beginning of the Battle of Normandy. This effort, led by President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, would succeed in ultimately liberating mainland Europe from Nazi occupation. Pierre Cartier’s wish to see a free France would come to fruition in August of 1944. Sadly, President Roosevelt would not live to see the Allied victory in World War II. He died on April 12, 1945, five months before the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan’s surrender on September 2, 1945.
A plaque under the dial of the clock contains a personal inscription to the President:“L’Heure de la Victoire dans le Monde’Hommage à son Artisan, le Président des Etats Unis, Franklin D. Roosevelt.”(‘The Hour of Victory in the World,’Hommage to its Craftsman, the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt).
President Roosevelt wrote, “I am taking it to Hyde Park to put on the west mantelpiece in the big library where I can always see it.”After President Roosevelt died in 1945, the President’s son, John Roosevelt, chose to keep it. When his mother’s estate was auctioned in New York by Hammer Galleries in 1964, John chose to exhibit the clock alongside her belongings, but it was not offered for sale. On the back of the timepiece is a sticker, reading “Estate of Eleanor Roosevelt, Hyde Park, N.Y.”from that exhibition and auction (see detail in the image below). The clock was sold privately and then sold at Sotheby’s on December 4, 2007, to its current owner, a private collector.
The World War II era has been celebrated widely over the years, including in Tom Brokaw’s book The Greatest Generation and Ken Burns’documentary “The War” on PBS. It was a time of great sacrifice for all Americans, united in a common cause. President Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only president to be elected to four consecutive terms. He served as U.S. president from 1933 to 1943 and is considered, along with Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, to be one of the three greatest presidents. According to Gallup at the time of the Sotheby’s 2007 sale, Roosevelt was the sixth most admired person from the 20th century by U.S. citizens.
The Cartier FDR Victory Clock relates directly to the historical context in which it was created. Following the May 1940 invasion by Nazi forces, France was divided into two sections. The northern region was occupied and controlled by the Germans, while the southern region was governed by the sympathetic Vichy-based regime led by Marshal Philippe Pétain. In both regions, French officials were forced to hand over civilians deemed “undesirable” by the Nazis. Cartier’s offices in Paris were not exempt from the German aggression. The store on Rue de la Paix remained open with a nominal amount of property, but the most valuable pieces were sent to the temporary office in Biarritz in the Vichy-controlled region.
Their London workshop served as a wartime production facility for the Allied forces and was responsible for the manufacture of items as diverse as airplane parts and photographic equipment for the Royal Navy.
As a further gesture of their support for the Allied struggle, Cartier extended the use of several of their facilities to General de Gaulle, then leading the Free French Government movement from London: the New Bond Street office, the company car, a Rolls Royce, and even the personal home of the London sales director. The firm was also asked to design the medals worn by de Gaulle’s Free French Forces.
Provenance
Gift from Pierre Cartier to President F.D.R., December 20, 1943.
Sotheby’s, New York, December 4, 2007, lot 226.
Acquired from the above by the present owner (private collector).
Exhibition
EXHIBITIONS OF CLOCK AND CASE:
Denver Art Museum
Denver, Colorado
Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century
November 14, 2014 – March 8, 2015
Cartier Fifth Avenue Mansion
New York, New York
Celebrating 100 Years of Cartier in America
May 1, 2014 – May 21, 2014
Whitney Museum
New York, New York
2014 Biennial
March 7, 2014 – June 1, 2014
New York Historical Society
New York, New York
WWII & NYC
October 5, 2012 – May 27, 2013
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Cartier and America
December 19, 2009 – April 18, 2010
EXHIBITION OF ARCHIVAL DRAWINGS:
Cartier Fifth Avenue Mansion
New York, New York
September 15, 2016 - onwards
Denver Art Museum
Denver, Colorado
Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century
November 14, 2014 – March 8, 2015
Grand Palais
Paris, France
Cartier: Style and History
December 4, 2013 – February 16, 2014
Literature
Cartier: The Impossible Collection
Assouline
by Herve Dewintre
October 2023
Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century
Denver Art Museum
November 14, 2014 – March 8, 2015
Celebrating 100 Years of Cartier in America
Cartier Fifth Avenue Mansion
May 1, 2014 – May 21, 2014
Lest We Forget: Masterpieces of Patriotic Jewelry and Military Decorations
by Judith Price
President of the National Jewelry Institute 2011
Cartier and America
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
December 19, 2009 – April 18, 2010
Cartier Art and Culture
Special Issue 2016 to celebrate the reopening of the landmark Cartier Fifth Avenue Mansion
Page 52
Various Publications
The Cartier FDR Victory Clock has appeared in many articles and online publications through the years.