Cartier - The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XIX Hong Kong Saturday, November 23, 2024 | Phillips
  • Manufacturer: Cartier
    Year: Circa 1925
    Case No: 4297
    Material: Gold, enamel, sapphires, diamonds and rock crystal
    Calibre: Manual, jewelled
    Dimensions: 80mm length x 67mm width
    Signed: Case signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Cartier leather presentation box.
    Literature: For a similar piece, please see “Borne Desk Clock with Strut” illustrated in The Cartier Collection: Timepieces, Flammarion, 2006, page 143.

  • Catalogue Essay

    From the sinuous sensuality of Belle Époque to the sleek geometry of Art Deco, Cartier clocks have long captured imaginations while encapsulating each era's essence. The 1920s and 30s marked a particularly creative apex for Cartier timepieces, as bold lines, novel materials and oriental influences transformed clocks into modernist treasures.

    Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, the great 19th century French clockmaker and illusionist who pioneered mystery clocks was a huge inspiration for Maurice Coüet, a descendant from generations of esteemed Parisian watchmakers. Coüet's collaborations with Cartier brought traditional skill to groundbreaking designs such as the “Comet” clocks.

    This desk clock with a rock crystal surround and strut from circa 1925 exemplifies the masterful creations of Coüet. Within a circular dial, translucent pale blue enamel over guilloché-ground depicts radiating lines to further heighten the diamond-set hour and minute hands. The delicate white enamel chapter ring decorated with gold Roman numeral markers and floral motif (appearing often on Cartier timepieces throughout the 1920s) is adorned with blue sapphire diamonds surrounding the outside.

    A century later, well-preserved and kept with its original fitted Cartier box, the rarity and beauty of this clock remain undimmed.

  • 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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Property of a Gentleman

913

A rare and attractive gold, enamel, sapphires and diamond-set rock crystal desk clock with strut, blue guilloché enamel dial and presentation box

Circa 1925
80mm length x 67mm width
Case signed

Estimate
HK$120,000 - 240,000 
€14,000-28,100
$15,400-30,800

Sold for HK$444,500

Contact Specialist

Thomas Perazzi
Head of Watches, Asia
+852 2318 2030
WatchesHK@phillips.com
 

Gertrude Wong
Head of Sale, Hong Kong
+852 2318 2045
gertrudewong@phillips.com
 

The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XIX

Hong Kong Auction 23 - 24 November 2024