Cartier - The Geneva Watch Auction: X Geneva Saturday, November 9, 2019 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Cartier
    Year: 1931
    Case No: 27372 24081 and 662
    Model Name: Tank Étanche
    Material: 18K yellow gold
    Calibre: Manual, 19 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: 18K yellow gold bracelet, max length 185mm
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K yellow gold deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 25mm Width and 37mm Length
    Signed: Dial signed, case with Cartier hand stamped numbers, movement by European Watch and Clock Co, inside caseback stamped EJ
    Accessories: Accompanied by Cartier Certificate and presentation box.
    Provenance: The present watch was given to Count Haugwitz-Reventlow by Heiress Barbara Hutton
    Sotheby's Geneva, 17 May, 2000, lot 116.

  • Provenance

    The present watch was given to Count Haugwitz-Reventlow by Heiress Barbara Hutton
    Sotheby's Geneva, 17 May, 2000, lot 116.

  • Catalogue Essay

    This important Cartier Étanche is imbued with history. Originally presented to Count Haugwitz-Reventlow by Heiress Barbara Hutton, it is also one of the rarest models that Cartier produced in the early 1930s. Legend goes that in the early 1930s, the Pasha of Marrakech ordered a water-resistant watch so that he could swim in his pool while being able to tell the time. Cartier thus created the model upon his request. By creating the Tank Étanche, Cartier made a rectangular-shaped wristwatch water-resistant, which was particularly difficult due to the shape and angles of the case.

    Having first appeared in the public sphere in 2000, the present watch was originally offered by the descendants of Count Haugwitz-Reventlow when it initially appeared at auction.

    This timepiece was most notably sold by Cartier London, evidenced by the London import hallmarks that date the watch to 1932. The movement is stamped European Watch and Clock Co., which is correct of Cartier timepieces from that period. The outside caseback is also stamped with the maker's mark for Edmond Jaeger (EJ with an hourglass in between). It is preserved in excellent condition with sharp hallmarks. Furthermore, all Cartier hand-stamped numbers are visible and crisp.

    Born in New York on November 14, 1912, Barbara Hutton was the daughter of Edna and Franklyn Hutton and the granddaughter of Frank Winfield Woolworth. The Heiress of the Woolworth fortune, she was during her lifetime, one of the wealthiest women in America. Since a young age, Hutton was renowned for her great taste and eye. Having amassed a vast fortune, she also built a magnificent and famous jewelry collection. One of the most notable pieces of jewelry she owned was an exquisite jade necklace by Cartier, which broke auction records at the time of its public sale in 2014. Another was an exceptional natural pearl necklace, which was once the property of Marie Antoinette. Hutton was also particularly known for her glamorous private life, having been married seven times. While Count Haugwitz-Reventlow was her second husband, she was also married to Cary Grant, Baron Gottfried von Cramm and Porfirio Rubirosa. Throughout her life she had only one child who was born during her marriage to Count Haugwitz-Reventlow.

    The present watch is accompanied by a Cartier certificate and presentation box.

  • 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. 

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126

An extremely rare and important yellow gold water-resistant wristwatch with bracelet, formerly given to Count Haugwitz-Reventlow by Barbara Hutton

1931
25mm Width and 37mm Length
Dial signed, case with Cartier hand stamped numbers, movement by European Watch and Clock Co, inside caseback stamped EJ

Estimate
CHF70,000 - 140,000 
€65,700-131,000
$72,800-146,000

Sold for CHF131,250

Contact Specialist
Alexandre Ghotbi
Head of Watches, Continental Europe and the Middle East
+ 41 79 637 1724
aghotbi@phillips.com

The Geneva Watch Auction: X

Geneva Auction 9-10 November 2019