Cartier - The Geneva Watch Auction: XVII Geneva Saturday, May 13, 2023 | Phillips

Create your first list.

Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

  • Manufacturer: Cartier
    Year: 2021
    Reference No: 4285
    Case No: 02/16
    Model Name: Tank Asymétrique "Milan Limited Edition"
    Material: Platinum
    Calibre: Manual, cal. 1917 MC, 19 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Alligator
    Clasp/Buckle: Platinum Cartier buckle
    Dimensions: 47mm Length and 26mm Width
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and buckle signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Cartier International Limited Warranty dated December 2021, Certificate of Origin, product literature, presentation box and outer packaging.

  • Catalogue Essay

    Having made its debut in 1936, the Cartier Asymétrique, originally known as the Paralélogramme, was born during an incredibly innovative period where the firm was experimenting with creative case designs and form. A twist on the classic Tank model, the Paralélogramme shifted both the case and the dial 30 degrees and lay flat on the wrist. The Paralélogramme perfectly encapsulates Cartier's design ethos of the 20th century and illustrates how the brand constantly pushed boundaries of form and design. It joins mythic models such as the Cintrée, Crash, Baignoire Allongée, all of which are cornerstones of Cartier's brilliant history.

    The Tank Asymétrique has been reborn through different forms throughout the 1990s and 2000s and always released as a limited edition series, underscoring its importance within Cartier's history.

    The present watch, launched in a limited edition of 16 pieces is no different. While it is commonly known that the Tank Asymétrique was relaunched in 2020 and offered in platinum, pink gold, and yellow gold, with only 100 examples produced in each precious metal, very little is known of the present model, which has never publicly appeared at auction before. To celebrate the reopening of the Milan Boutique, Cartier quietly offered to their friends and family 16 examples of the platinum Tank Asymétrique, this time with burgundy accents on the dial (1 and 6) and a different-than-standard dial layout, giving it an incredibly eye-catching appearance. The motif of 16 is extremely pertinent because Cartier Milan's boutique is located on 16 Via Montenapoleone.

    Making its auction debut and offered with all its original accessories, the present timepiece is a delight to even the more stringent of Cartier collectors.

  • Artist Biography

    Cartier

    French

    With the Constitution of 1848 came a new standard for luxury in France. Founded one year prior by Louis-Francois Cartier, the house of Cartier was one of the first to use platinum in jewelry making. This incredibly expensive material became the stepping-stone for Cartier to experiment in form, mechanisms and attitude. It helped men move from pocket watches to wristwatches, effectively making the watch much more functional and prominent in a man's overall wardrobe.

    Cartier did not only touch on functionality. Inspired by a commissioned painting by George Barbier featuring a black panther at the feet of an elegantly bejeweled woman, Cartier began incorporating wild animals in his designs—most notably, Cartier Panthère rings, bangle bracelets and watches. Yet it wasn't until the late 1960s that the house of Cartier debuted their iconic yellow and rose gold LOVE collection, which includes the famous bracelet that only a special screwdriver can open. 

    View More Works

Σ37

Ref. 4285
A rare, fine and attractive limited edition platinum asymmetrical wristwatch with burgundy numerals, certificate and presentation box, numbered 02 of a limited edition of 16 pieces made for the Milan boutique

2021
47mm Length and 26mm Width
Case, dial, movement and buckle signed

Estimate
CHF40,000 - 80,000 
€41,600-83,300
$45,700-91,400

Sold for CHF88,900

Contact Specialist

Alexandre Ghotbi
Head of Watches, Continental Europe and the Middle East

+41 79 637 17 24
AGhotbi@phillips.com

Tiffany To
Head of Sale, Geneva

+41 79 460 55 88
TiffanyTo@phillips.com

The Geneva Watch Auction: XVII

Geneva Auction 13 - 14 May 2023