The piece was awarded to the Belgium driver Gaston Rahier after winning the grueling Paris-Dakar Rally automobile race in 1984 and 1985.
A rare Cartier Cheich, a piece recognized as a “watchmaking unicorn,” will headline Sotheby’s Luxury Edit auction in September. While only four of the models were ever made, the watch is estimated to fetch up to $400,000 at the sale in Paris.
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This particular piece was awarded to the Belgium driver Gaston Rahier after winning the grueling Paris-Dakar Rally automobile race in 1984 and 1985. It was specifically created as an award to the competition’s winner. The idea was birthed by then-Cartier CEO Alain Dominique Perrin and Paris-Dakar founder Thierry Sabine in 1983. It was designed by the jeweler’s creative director at the time, Jacques Diltoer.
Triumph and tragedy
In fact, the design takes inspiration from the race’s logo—a person wearing a Cheich, which is a cloth one wraps around their head as protection from the sun and sand.
“There are so many reasons why the Cartier Cheich watch is extraordinary,” Benoît Colson, the international watch specialist at Sotheby’s says in a press release. “It is hard to just pick one.”
The rarity of the piece stems from Sabine’s untimely death. In 1986, the race’s founder died from a helicopter crash due to a sandstorm in Mali.
“As a true horological masterpiece, and for its association with the triumph and tragedy of the legendary Cartier Challenge, it has achieved near mythical status, and the market has been longingly waiting for its first appearance at auction,” Colson continued.
Banner photo from @Sothebys on Instagram.
