The Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction: XXII takes place on 30 & 31 May 2026, at our West Kowloon headquarters. The auction includes more than 250 of the world's finest watches – and though we are loath to boast, we truly think it's one of the best catalogues we've ever put together. We'll be highlighting a number of the most interesting lots and stories from the sale over the next month, including the two gorgeous gem-set Cartier wristwatches featured below.
– By Logan Baker
Cartier occupies a unique place in watchmaking.
Few brands move as comfortably between the worlds of high jewelry and serious horology, and even fewer manage to make the combination feel natural rather than forced.
At its best, Cartier doesn’t simply decorate watches with gemstones. It treats the entire object, case, movement, dial, and stones alike, as part of a single sculptural idea. Two contemporary pieces offered in the upcoming Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction: XXII illustrate that philosophy particularly well.
On paper they belong to different families. In reality they speak the same language: bold forms, technical ambition, and the unmistakable sense that Cartier approaches watchmaking through the eye of a designer.
The first is a remarkable example of the Cartier Crash, the Squelette Ref. CRHPI01088, created around 2017 in a platinum case set with diamonds and rubies.
The Crash hardly needs an introduction. Since its debut in London in 1967, the distorted case has become one of the most recognizable shapes in modern watch design, somewhere between surrealist art object and wristwatch. What began as a countercultural curiosity has, over the decades, become a true icon of the brand.
Cartier reimagined the Crash in 2015 with the introduction of the Crash Squelette, a watch that pushed the concept further by giving the model a shaped movement built specifically to follow the warped geometry of the case.
Developed during the tenure of Carole Forestier-Kasapi, who led Cartier’s movement creation department for 15 years, the calibre 9618MC is both technically impressive and visually striking. Its skeletonized bridges stretch outward to form elongated Roman numerals, turning the movement's architecture into the dial.
The asymmetry makes the engineering even more compelling. Rather than a conventional round layout, the gear train runs vertically through the twisting case, culminating with the balance wheel positioned dramatically toward the lower tip. While skeleton watches are common in fine watchmaking, skeleton watches with irregularly shaped movements are extremely rare.
The present watch takes that foundation and adds a distinctly Cartier flourish. The platinum case is framed by four rows of graduated diamonds and rubies, transforming the Crash’s already dramatic silhouette into something even more theatrical. Numbered “1” of the series and preserved unworn by its original owner, it represents the first example of this gem-set Crash Squelette configuration to appear publicly at auction.
If the Crash embodies Cartier’s surrealist instincts, the Cartier Libre Baignoire Allongée Ref. WJLI0018, produced in 2019, represents another side of the brand's creative identity.
The Baignoire is one of Cartier’s most enduring designs, dating back to the early 20th century. Its elongated oval case is elegant but unmistakable, a shape that has remained remarkably adaptable through generations of reinterpretation.
This particular example comes from Cartier’s Libre collection, a series that gives the brand’s designers unusually free rein to experiment with form and gemstone composition. Produced as a limited edition of just 20 pieces, the watch is lavishly crafted in 18k white gold, featuring a pavé diamond-set dial and an intricate arrangement of deep blue sapphires across the case.
The setting is particularly distinctive. Rather than a symmetrical frame of stones, the sapphires spread across the case in irregular, flowing clusters that almost resemble organic forms. Cartier’s designers have long excelled at this kind of gem-setting, where the stones feel less like decoration and more like part of the watch’s visual rhythm.
Numbered 9 of the limited series and preserved in like-new condition with its full accessories, the Libre Baignoire Allongée is also making its first appearance at auction here.
These two pieces capture the breadth of Cartier’s contemporary creativity. One pushes technical watchmaking into sculptural territory. The other explores the house’s unmatched mastery of jewelry design.
Both, in their own way, demonstrate why Cartier remains one of the few brands able to treat a wristwatch as both mechanical instrument and work of art.
You can learn more, place a bid, and view the entire Hong Kong Watch Auction: XXII catalogue right here.
About Phillips In Association With Bacs & Russo
The team of specialists at PHILLIPS Watches is dedicated to an uncompromised approach to quality, transparency, and client service. Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo holds the world record for the most successful watch auction, with its Geneva Watch Auction: XIV having realized $74.5 million in 2021. Over the course of 2021 and 2022, the company sold 100% of the watches offered, a first in the industry, resulting in the highest annual total in history across all the auction houses at $227 million.
About Logan Baker
Logan has spent the past ten years covering the watch industry from every angle. He joined Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo in early 2023 as Senior Editorial Manager, after previous roles at Hodinkee and WatchTime. Originally from Texas, he spent a decade in New York and now calls Geneva home.