GOT SOME SPARE CASH burning a hole in your wallet? Might be time to invest in something nice and shiny when auction house Sotheby’s stages one of the most comprehensive vintage Cartier watch sales this year, starting in Hong Kong this month.

Titled The Shapes of Cartier, the sale has been built around a single-owner collection of more than 300 pieces assembled over roughly 25 years, with a total estimate exceeding US$15 million (A$21.225 million).

As the name might intimate, the collection tracks Cartier’s ingenious use of form across the 20th century, with particular weight given to watches produced by the London workshop during its most experimental period between the late 1960s and mid 1970s. These were years in which Cartier London operated with relative independence, producing designs that moved away from the more conventional proportions associated with Paris.

Across the catalogue, familiar elements remain consistent. Roman numerals, sword hands and cabochon-set crowns appear throughout. The bulk of the action, however, occurs with the case. Shapes are rotated, stretched, flattened or broken entirely with no regard for the usual timepiece symmetry. 

Check out some of the key pieces below.

Cartier Crash, one of three made in 1987.

Cartier Crash, London, 1987

The highest profile lot is a yellow gold Cartier Crash from 1987, estimated at over $550,000. It is believed to be one of three examples produced that year.

The Crash was first developed in London in 1967, when Jean-Jacques Cartier and Rupert Emmerson reworked the Maxi Oval into a distorted case that extends the deformation across both the dial and the watch’s structure. Earlier asymmetrical designs tended to limit irregularity to the case alone. The Crash moves beyond that, creating a watch that does not align to any standard axis.

Production numbers for early examples are low, with fewer than a dozen thought to have been made between 1967 and 1970. That scarcity, combined with the clarity of the design, has kept it at the centre of collector interest. Within this sale, it functions as the clearest example of Cartier London’s willingness to depart from established forms.

Cartier Tank Asymétrique, London, 1992

The Tank Asymétrique offers a more structured departure. The example included here, produced in 1992 in white gold, is estimated at upwards of $85K.

Originally introduced in 1936, the Asymétrique rotates the standard Tank case into a parallelogram, with the dial adjusted to maintain legibility when viewed at an angle, like when your hands are on the steering wheel of a car or resting on a desk to allow for discreet checking of the time.

The London versions extend this idea by tweaking the proportions. The angled layout is retained, but the emphasis sits on the specific spatial relationship between case, numerals and wrist position.

Cartier Asymétrique with blue enamel.

Cartier Asymétrique with Blue Enamel, London, 1973–74

A more specific variation appears in the Asymétrique with blue enamel, produced in London between 1973 and 1974 and estimated at $70k and up. This example is rear-wound and part of a very small group. Sotheby’s research suggests only five enamel versions from this period are known.

The watch sits within the final phase of Cartier London’s experimental period. Materials are used to reinforce the geometry rather than soften it. The enamel dial introduces contrast, but the underlying structure remains unchanged. It is a variation that relies on execution rather than redesign.

Cartier Baignoire series.

Other watches in the sale continue the same line of thinking. The Decagonal, produced around 1970 to 1971, reduces the case to ten sides, with only a handful of examples identified. The Octagonal from the early 1970s approaches geometry through faceting and proportion, while the Driver’s watch from 1966 to 1967 applies a curved rectangular case to improve readability at the wheel.

In contrast to most coveted timepieces, the Cartier collection swaps mechanical complexity – although trust that the Cartier finesse remains true here as for all watches – for artistic outlook. Their importance rests in how they handle form. Cartier’s approach across the period was consistent in that respect. Watches weren’t so much treated as platforms for technical escalation, but as objects defined by outline and proportion. Artistry and aesthetics, akin to their jewellery.

The auction itself will be structured across multiple cities and dates, starting on 24 April in Hong Kong, followed by Geneva on 10 May and New York on 15 June. Save the dates in your calendars.

Related:

Diamonds and pearls: The NGV will host the biggest Cartier exhibit Australia has ever seen

This ultra rare Cartier might be Paul Mescal’s favourite watch