RARE BEAUTY! The Cartier Crash 'Paris' Limited Edition
Cartier Crash, Limited edition of 400 - 1991
Sometimes we get our hands on a watch that is nothing short of legendary. This is one of those times, and this is the rare as hens teeth Cartier Crash.
A lot of mystery surrounds it, with plenty of ideas circulating about just how this watch came to be. There have been stories of a Maxi Oval (aka Baignoire Allongee) melting in a car crash, to inspiration being taken from Dali’s “Persistence of Memory” painting.
Although fascinating bits of legend, neither are accurate but the story of its conception is still interesting, particularly if you hail from London, as we do.
The watch was designed by Jean Jacques Cartier, head of Cartier London and his favoured collaborative designer Rupert Emerson. The watch was conceived and produced at 175/175 Bond Street, UK home of Cartier since 1902 and still to the present day.
Contrary to legend, the design didn’t come from a melted Oval, or a Spanish artist. It was the result of the swinging sixties in London and all of its rebellion against post war austerity. Customers wanted something new, something different, something inimitably Cartier but without the seriousness or tradition.
The idea was to produce something wild, that fit the nonconformity of the decade and the vibrant cultural revolution that was going on all across the city. It had to be current but startlingly different, it also needed to have all the style, class and substance that was Cartiers signature.
Jean Jacques responded to this brief by taking a long hard look at the Baignoire Allongee and trying to figure out how to achieve an organic shape by pinching the ends to a point and putting a kink somewhere in the middle. He discussed the plan with Emmerson who went to work creating some samples, one of which even had a cracked glass to enhance his perception of the design.
Emerson was asked to “tone it down” on the glass front, but beyond that, JJ’s conception of pinched and kinked became reality, and the Cartier Crash was born.
It took the watchmaking team at Cartier a few attempts and a lot of “headaches” while creating an asymmetrical dial that could a) fit the curvature of the case and b) be read easily and accurately.
After much fettling and perfecting, the Crash was released in 1967 and was produced until the early 70s in vanishingly low numbers - believed to be below 25, although the brand themselves are tight lipped on the count as is often the way with unicorn watches of yesteryear.
In 1980 Cartier released a limited edition of “Crash London” watches. To usher in the Nineties they went “ultra limited” with platinum run of the “Paris Crash” and followed that with perhaps the largest limited edition set of 400 crafted from yellow gold.
For close to thirty years, all was quiet on the Crash front, until Cartier reissued a Bond Street boutique exclusive model which effectively lit the fires underneath many collectors back pockets and sent the appetite and price of the vintage models into the stratosphere with one of the original Crash London’s reaching close to 1 million US dollars at auction. Oof.
It is said that Cartier produces one modern Crash a month, but this is unverified.
What isn’t unverified, though, is that these watches are rare and utterly wonderful, so on to this 1991 gem of a Paris Crash.
The watch is a manual wind and powered by the 17 jewel calibre 160.
It is 18 carat gold and small but perfectly formed coming in at 22.5mm by 39mm with a silvered dial and Roman Numerals which have been distorted and curved to echo the abstract nature of the case.
This has just been so well executed by Cartier but looking at the watch, you really can imagine the migraines that it caused the designers as they worked to get it “just right”, and believe me, it is just right.
The only text on display is the “Cartier” and “Paris” both of which have been offset and tilted to match the flow of the case and dial. Clean, simple, and designed not to detract,
Cartiers secret signature is subtly placed, as usual, making up one side of the V on the 7 numeral.
The hands are heat blued steel, another signature of the brand.
The lugs are also subtly hidden at the rear of the watch so as not to disrupt the flow and the Crash mounts to a XXmm strap which due to the form of the lugs will need to be either purchased from Cartier or a bespoke build should you wish to replace it. I think bespoke would be the most “fun” here as the Crash pairs brilliantly with all sorts of hides, colours, and textures.
The piece de resistance (since this is the Paris version) of the rest of the watch is the splendid deployant clasp, which rather than being Cartiers usual affair, is designed specifically for the crash and echoes the same fluid shapes of the case - really well thought out and a perfect finishing touch to an absolutely iconic vintage watch.
Long may the Crash continue.