I would’ve loved to have a Cartier pick, but it’s a weak Geneva season for good Cartiers. Most of the stuff for sale is modern or near-modern, which, while it can be rare in number, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s interesting (it’s exhausting to see the third modern Pebble appear at auction at Phillips, just months after its release at an already-punchy $40,000). The best auction Cartier of the year was the London Oval Maxi that sold at Monaco for more than $200,000 in April. There’s a platinum Tank Cintrée at Christie’s that has some folks excited, but it just didn’t do it for me in person. The dial was restored by Cartier in 1999 according to Christie’s, and to me, the clean, modern look of the newer dial just doesn’t fit a watch from 1926. By the way, it’s not like these old Cartiers were super waterproof – most vintage Cartier dials probably are restored. Still, this Cintrée comes from the family of the original owner, and vintage Cintrées are very rare, and rarer still in platinum so it might do well.
Not every season needs to be full of hits for a brand. And with so much heat behind Cartier the last few years, perhaps it’s not such a bad thing for it to take a breather.
– T.T.