Cartier Crash

The Cartier Crash is probably the most coveted model on the market at the moment. Why? The answer is simple: inaccessibility, cool design, and stellar hype. 

 

Photo source: Revolution Watch

 

There are several romanticized versions of the creation of this iconic watch-from inspiration from Salvador Dali's paintings with the "floating clock" to the Baignoire model deformed in a car accident. Francesca Cartier Brickell, the great-granddaughter of Jean-Jacques Cartier, The Creator of Crash, gives a different version in his book The Cartiers: Jean-Jacques thought about how to adapt The Oval (one of the most popular classic Cartier Watches of the time) for the rebellious era of the 60s. Jean-Jacques said that he "gave a lot of headaches" to his chief watchmaker, and in 1967 Cartier Crash was born.

 

Photo source: Getty Images

 

In the first series of Crash London (before 1970), less than 20 copies were produced, and that is why they broke records for sales at auctions - in 2022, such watches were sold for 1.5 million USD. 

 

Era Cartier releases Crash exclusively in limited editions: London Crash in the 1980s, Paris Crash in platinum in the early 1990s, 400 copies from Cartier Paris in 1991, and 5 limited editions since 2013. Any of these limits was almost impossible to buy in retail.

 

Photo source: Squarespace

 

Collectors have always been partial to this model, but a few years ago a crazy rush began - Jay-Z, Kanye West, Tayler the Creator, and Kris Jenner appeared in Crash one after another, and many more stars followed them.

The already high prices of the secondary market have skyrocketed, and the hype around Crash does not end. At the moment, the investment potential of this watch is considered one of the highest on the market.