Results for Cartier Crash

A Collector’s Perspective: The Cartier Crash

A fever dream - form that bent and curved the very idea of what a wristwatch could be. The Cartier Crash, born out of myth and mystery, is no conventional timepiece. As established notions of purpose and design in watchmaking, the Crash exists at the intersection of watchmaking and sculpture. To the uninitiated, the Crash may seem bizarre, wildly eccentric for the sake of it, but to those steeped in horology, it is an icon. For me, Crash was more than just an addition to my collection; it was the culmination of years of passion, patience, and persistence. The author and his special order Crash A product of Swinging Sixties London There are watches that tell time, and then there are watches that tell stories. The Crash belongs to the latter category. Beyond its appearance, the allure of the Crash also stems from its founding myths. Introduced in 1967 by Cartier London – the jeweller was then three separate companies in Paris, New York, and the British capital – the Crash is easily the most avant-garde watch design ever produced by Cartier. Its warped, melted form defies the conventional standards that most watches adhere to, making it as much an artistic statement as a timekeeper. An example of a vintage London Crash To truly appreciate the significance of the Cartier Crash, one must delve into its history, which is almost as enigmatic as the watch itself. One popular origin story is macabre: a Cartier client wearing a Baignoire Allongée was in a car crash that damag...

The Crash You Didn’t Think Ever Happened - The Ultra-Rare Cartier Crash Skeleton Extra Large Limited Edition In Platinum

Have you ever seen a Crash live? If you have, you will agree with me that this very peculiar Cartier creation is something special. Do you know what’s even more special than “any old” Cartier Crash? A skeletonized Cartier Crash Skeleton Extra Large limited edition in platinum, that’s what. Only 10 were made in 2017 […] Visit The Crash You Didn’t Think Ever Happened - The Ultra-Rare Cartier Crash Skeleton Extra Large Limited Edition In Platinum to read the full article.

How much did Elton John’s Cartier Crash just hammer for?

The auction results for The Rocket Man's watches are out of this world.The post How much did Elton John’s Cartier Crash just hammer for? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

New: Cartier Crash in Platinum, London Bond Street Exclusive

Learn about the new Cartier Crash in platinum, a limited edition watch that pays homage to the iconic design of 1967. Read our commentary on its history, features, and price.

Cartier Crash merch is becoming as impossible to snag as the watch

The Cartier Crash is really having a moment, spotted on Kanye West and Tyler the Creator. But now even Crash themed merch is selling out.The post Cartier Crash merch is becoming as impossible to snag as the watch appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Cartier Crash ‘First Light’

Revolution’s founder Wei Koh tells the story of his watch, the world’s first luminous Cartier Crash.

The Cartier Crash is officially trending after popping up in Tyler The Creator’s new video

The Cartier Crash is a bit of an enigma in the history of the French brand. The story behind its Salvador Dali-esque design is far-fetched – a Cartier Tank was returned for repair to the London boutique after being in a car crash, the unusual shape the result of the gold melting in the heat … ContinuedThe post The Cartier Crash is officially trending after popping up in Tyler The Creator’s new video appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Cartier Crash: A Beautiful Accident

Many fascinating tales surround the origin of the Cartier Crash, which remains widely sought after by aficionados – and the Crash Skeleton is no exception.

SIHH 2015: Cartier Crash Skeleton

Cartier Crash Skeleton

The Revolutionary List: 30 Pioneering Watches – the Cartier Crash Skeleton

A Collector’s Guide: The Cartier Crash

Best Jewelry Watch 2022: Cartier Crash Tigrée Metamorphoses

The World’s First Luminous Cartier Crash

Pre-SIHH: The Cartier Crash Radieuse & Baignoire Watches

Cartier announces the Crash Radieuse and four new versions of the Baignoire ahead of SIHH 2018.

Interview: Sylvain Berneron on Building a Brand, and Rethinking Modern Watchmaking

Every few years, a new independent hits the scene with something that hits just the right notes to get all the factions of the watch world vibrating at the same frequency. However, no recent newcomer has managed to unite the watch echo chamber the way Swiss independent Berneron has.  When Berneron unveiled their debut offering, the Mirage, in 2023, it was universally lauded as the most intriguing and refreshing new watch seen in ages. The Mirage was a legitimately unique take on upscale watchmaking, with a striking aesthetic and design narrative as unexpected as its asymmetrical shape and wildly ambitious bespoke movement. The Mirage’s styling was initially met with comparisons to the Cartier Crash, but the reality is its melted case shape was an elegant solution for housing the watch’s impressive mechanics–a case shrink-wrapped around a new caliber that was designed from scratch, free from the rules of traditional movement design.  The Mirage was a helluva of a breakout hit; it had mystique, it was technically impressive, and it was different without resorting to arbitrary design choices. The Mirage’s success would be difficult to replicate, but with the Quantième, Berneron has both side-steped the sophomore slump and cemented the reputation of its founder and Creative Director Sylvain Berneron as a true visionary and a generational talent.  The Quantième applies Berneron’s virtuosic technicality to a watch that embraces a more traditional look than the Mir...

Exaequo Adds New References to their Lineup of Dali Inspired Melting Watches

It’s hard to overstate the impact that Salvador Dalí-and, by extension, the Surrealist movement-had on popular culture. What might now feel like a strange detour in an art history textbook was, in reality, a radical reimagining of what art could be. Dalí’s obsession with the unconscious, symbolism, and dream logic reframed art as a psychological response to culture, rather than just a mirror of it. In doing so, Surrealism paved the way for the Avant-Garde, Pop Art, and the way we think about art today. It’s no surprise, then, that Dalí’s legacy continues to ripple through design and (not to be dramatic here) time itself. Brands have long used his vision as a jumping-off point for their own explorations of time and perception, most notably, of course, through reinterpretations of some of Dali’s most famous works, like his 1931 The Persistence of Memory. The Cartier Crash, with its iconic “melting clock” case, is probably the most famous representation of this style; but it is not the only one. In fact, Exaequo has been producing its own version of a melting watch since 1990, with its latest references, the Polyhedron series, debuting at Time to Watches in Geneva earlier this year. While there will undoubtedly be comparisons between Cartier’s and  Exaequo’s two versions of a wobbly little timepiece, there is a marked difference between the two brands’ approach to the same reference source (not least of all the price). For the Polyhedron,  Exaequo...

The Exaequo Melting Watch is a Surrealist Take on Watch Design

If you’ve been paying attention to the world of the Hype Watch over the last few years, you’ve no doubt stumbled upon the hypiest Hype Watch of them all: the Cartier Crash. OK, maybe it’s not the hypiest Hype Watch, but it’s close. In terms of genuine rarity and the Crash’s ability to show up on the wrists of movie stars, recording artists, and top tier influencers with regularity, it’s certainly a big part of the conversation. There are a lot of reasons why the Crash has become so sought after in recent years, but one of them is certainly a movement among the larger watch market to pieces that are, at least on the surface, more unusual, and lead with design. The Crash, then, is really part of the rising tide that is lifting the ship of shaped cases more generally. And that brings us to the Exaequo Melting Watch, an unusual avant-garde design with a shaped case that is, at least in some ways, Crash adjacent, but a small fraction of the cost and quite a bit more approachable.  Longtime enthusiasts might remember the Exaequo Softwatch from the 1990s, which has carried on cult favorite status even to this day. The Melting Watch is effectively the modern rendition of the Softwatch, and has been brought back this year in a well timed bid to take advantage of a movement toward uncommon shapes and designs.  While the possibly apocryphal story of the Crash involves a Tank being accidentally melted in a fire after a car wreck, Exaequo has always proudly touted their w...

Business News: Sam Hines Joins Online Auctioneer Loupe This

A watch auction veteran who has had stints at all the major auction houses – Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips – Sam Hines has just been named managing director of Loupe This, the online-only watch auction platform that was established last year. Mr Hines will be based in Hong Kong, where he will oversee the soon-to-open Loupe This operation in the city. Unlike traditional auctioneers that hold seasonal sales with the online sales in-between, Loupe This has auctions opening and closing every weekday. In the 12 months it’s been in operation, Loupe This has sold over US$15 million of watches, including major lots like a 1967 Cartier Crash “London” that sold for over US$1.5 million. Now also a shareholder in Loupe This, Mr Hines (pictured above left) joins cofounders Eric Ku (centre) and Justin Gruenberg (right), who are both prominent vintage watch dealers in the United States. Having turned a teenage hobby into a profession, Mr Ku got his start as a specialist in vintage Rolex, though he has since diversified into other genres of collectible watches as well as watch restoration and repair. Mr Gruenberg, on the other hand, had watches in his blood, having been born into the business; his father, Donald, was a major vintage watch dealer since the 1980s. The record-setting 1967 Crash that sold on Loupe This in June 2022 The pair decided to form Loupe This to cater to the increasing and unending demand for watches. “The appetite for watches is all year long,...

Cartier Crash Alternatives For Every Budget

We’re back at it again with another "alternatives" roundup for some of the most iconic watches in watchmaking history, and in this episode, we’re getting more quirky than we ever have before. Which is only fitting given today’s subject, which is one of the most subversive watch designs of all time: the illustrious Cartier Crash.  Before I launch into some quick Cartier Crash history and then contemporary alternatives at multiple budgets, let’s establish some key design ingredients in the recipe at hand. Because I didn’t want to make you all eat up some AliExpress Cartier Crash phonies, and because the design is so iconic that most watchmakers haven’t really attempted their own imitations, I will be leaning into asymmetry or hints at surrealism here instead of more 1:1 design alternatives. Before I begin, I will say that the avant-garde era of the 1960s and '70s, before the big houses had such rigid design codes, is one of my favorites in watchmaking history. Here in the modern age, many brands seem less willing to experiment boldly, and really keep things, largely, safe. Still, there are some asymmetrical watch gems out there, and below, they will get a little time in the spotlight. I will warn you now that on the current market, prices for more bold watch designs run a little steep, so the budget I’m working around here is at a higher price point than I try to stick to (though I have thrown in some affordable options). But given the exorbitant prices of the...

Cartier Crash: The Ultimate Guide to the Oddball Icon

As the enduring popularity of pre-worn and “distressed” denim should prove, fashion sometimes embraces wear and tear, or at least the illusion of such, as a bold stylistic statement. The phenomenon can also occasionally be found, albeit perhaps less overtly, in the world of watches. Consider the fascinating case of the Cartier Crash, a watch whose wildly unconventional, “banged-up” shape has made it not just a curiosity but one of the world’s most collectible timepieces - a quirky icon from a watchmaker with no shortage of iconic designs to its credit. The Crash has been around, mostly floating along the periphery of the watch-industry mainstream, since the 1960s, in various iterations, and while it has never achieved the household-name popularity of Cartier watches like the Tank and Santos, it has also never really gone out of style, either. Here is a primer on the Cartier Crash, and perhaps even a little insight on how it has stayed relevant in the marketplace, nearly six decades after its debut. Photo: Bonhams Let’s start at the beginning, with one of the main sources of the Crash’s multigenerational appeal, its decidedly lurid and now-debunked origin story. As legend had it, the Crash’s curvy, bent case design was inspired by a fatal automobile accident: the owner of a Cartier Baignoire Allongé - an oval-cased watch, example above - was wearing it when he perished in a fiery car crash (hence the name) and the watch, once recovered from the wrecka...

At the closing spring auction of Christie’s New York , Cartier Crash-es through the estimate ceiling to outshine Andy Warhol..

The Christie’s New York auction ended yesterday with their final event of the spring season representing an important touchstone for the market. The predicted top lot, Andy Warhol’s chic Patek Philippe Calatrava surprisingly didn’t turn out to be the star of the show with Cartier instead making the headlines with their quirky Crash. While the … ContinuedThe post At the closing spring auction of Christie’s New York , Cartier Crash-es through the estimate ceiling to outshine Andy Warhol.. appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Auctions: Elton John’s Cartier Crash, Leopard Daytona Lead Sale Of Music Legend’s Eclectic Collection

More than 30 watches of the singer’s collection are set to hit auction as part of eight sales dedicated to Sir Elton.

A Week On The Wrist: The Cartier Crash, The Last Word In High-Impact Horology

From mod moment to modern classic.

Auctions: A 1967 London Cartier Crash Just Became The Costliest Crash Ever (For Now)

How high can you go?

Year In Review: How the Cartier Crash Became The Most Important Vintage Watch of 2021

A new world-record auction price for the Crash is just the latest chapter in the history of this surreal Cartier.