Sotheby’s will bring one of Cartier’s rarest watch designs to public auction for the first time when a unique white gold Cheich crosses the block in Hong Kong on September 18. Created as a special commission in 2010, the Cheich is the top lot of the house’s Important Watches sale, with an estimate of HK$8-40 million, or approximately $1 million to $5.1 million. Only four examples of the original Cheich were made in the 1980s; this later commission added a fifth, the only example executed entirely in white gold.
The broader sale catalogue includes a platinum F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance, a possibly unique Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5980 “Red Eight” and a selection of rare vintage Rolex sports watches, among many other highlights. The rarity of the Cheich puts Cartier at the center of a sale that also features several rare Crash watches, a Tank à Guichets and two Bamboo Coussins.
Why the Cheich is so rare
In 1983, Cartier introduced the Cartier Challenge, promising a specially designed wristwatch to a competitor who could win consecutive editions of the Dakar Rally. That watch was the Cheich, conceived as a competition trophy rather than for retail sale, with only four examples originally made. Its signature case took inspiration from the headscarves of the same name worn by the Tuareg people of the Sahara, translating the folds of a cheich into overlapping layers of yellow, pink and white gold.
Belgian motorcyclist Gaston Rahier claimed the prize after winning the rally in 1984 and 1985, and would remain its only recipient. Rally founder Thierry Sabine died in a helicopter crash during the 1986 event, and the Cartier Challenge ended soon afterward. According to Sotheby’s, two of the four watches made during that period remain in the Cartier Collection, while Sabine’s is unaccounted for. Rahier’s was sold by his family through the auction house in 2022 for more than €1 million.
A special commission in white gold
The watch heading to Hong Kong exists because Cartier revisited the design in 2010 for Giorgio Seragnoli, a prominent collector and co-author of Cartier Bianco, a book documenting white-metal Cartier watches. The commission retained the Cheich’s distinctive form but replaced the original combination of mixed golds with white gold alone.
At 38mm long by 27mm wide, the case is relatively compact. Its irregular outline and raised folds account for much of its presence, framing a familiar Cartier white dial with blued sword-shaped hands. The single metal makes those layers less immediately distinct than on the original three-gold version, while preserving the impression of fabric wrapped around the time display.
Like many Cartier timepieces, the Cheich runs on a quartz movement. A brown leather strap and white gold folding clasp complete the watch, which comes with a Cartier certificate and presentation box. The caseback bears the engraving “No. 1,” and Sotheby’s catalogues the example as unique.
Cartier collectors may recognize this Cheich from its appearance with Milan dealer The Watch Boutique in 2023, when it received significant coverage in the watch press as a fifth example of a design long thought to number just four. The question now is whether this unique white gold commission can command a higher price than the watch that fulfilled the original Cartier Challenge.
Beyond the Cheich
The Cheich leads a Cartier offering that runs deep, including six separate Crash examples and a run of rare 1970s Cartier London pieces. Among the Crashes, a possibly unique sapphire-set white gold example carries an estimate of HK$4.5-10 million. Another white gold version pairs a burgundy dial with a diamond-set case, alongside further examples in yellow and pink gold.
Beyond the Crash, the Cartier selection extends to a Tank à Guichets from the Collection Privée Cartier Paris, estimated at HK$400,000-700,000, and a pair of Bamboo Coussins. The larger Bamboo carries an estimate of HK$400,000-800,000, while the smaller is estimated at HK$300,000-600,000. The sale also includes two early-1970s Cartier London watches, a Maxi Pebble estimated at HK$1.6-2.2 million and a Midi Pebble estimated at HK$950,000 – 1.5 million, both pairing rounded yellow gold cases with distinctive geometric dials.
Among the rare Cartiers in the sale, the Cheich remains the hardest to put a price on. The broad distance between its high and low estimates leaves plenty of room for bidders to decide what a fifth example is worth, while the depth of the Cartier offering means it may not be the day’s only eye-catching result.