Thierry Sabine, the founder of the Paris Dakar Rally, and Alain Dominique Perrin, then president of Cartier, found it a very challenging task, as the drivers had to travel 6,200 miles from Paris to Dakar via Algiers. As a result, Gaston Rahier was hard at 125c.c. in 1984~1985. Nearly 40 years after Gaston Rahier received this ultra-special watch at auction, it will detonate the world at auction.
The legendary tricolor gold bandana was inspired by North Africa, where Jacques Diltoer, the former creative director of Cartier who led the design of the watch at the time, first took inspiration from the rally logo, but also from the Tuareg nomads of North Africa. The traditional headscarf “Cheich” (“Chèche” in French) worn by the Aleges is also the name of the watch. Since the appearance of the CARTIER Cheich was so unique that the traditional lug design could not meet the aesthetic requirements, Cartier installed a special device on the case back to secure the strap to the case. The watch is also made of Cartier’s tricolor gold.
As one of only four legendary watches in the world, and the only complete set known to exist in a private collection, the auction price is expected to be very high, with Sotheby’s estimated price to be around €400,000 and we look forward to the auction starting in September.
Dominic Jordan –
I didn’t want to come up to review it, but I couldn’t help it. I can only say that it’s worth the money. It’s really crazy to buy such a good watch at such a low price.
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