Contrary to what most people think, the Cartier Crash was not inspired by Salvador Dali's melting clocks in the 'Persistence of Memory'. The accepted story is that either a Cartier executive (many people say the Cartier manager of that time) or a client was involved in a very bad car accident. He or she probably wore a Cartier Baignoire Allongee or Maxi Ovale. Due to the fire ensued by the crash, the watch melted which changed its shape. The remains of this watch became the blueprint for the Cartier Crash. The first Cartier Crash was released in 1967 in London. Through the decades, it has only been launched in limited batches. Initially, the production of this model took place in London but in 1991 production was taken over by Cartier Paris and a re-edition was introduced: the Cartier Crash Paris. The re-edition was smaller measuring just 38 mm as opposed to 43 mm and displayed 'Paris' above the 6-hour position instead of 'London'. While it received resistance in the beginning, the Crash has become a cult classic and recently was embraced by the pop-culture as it has been graciously flaunted by the likes of Kanye West, Kim Kardashian and Tyler the Creator. Allow me to enlighten how we managed to get a hold of such a memorable and complete example of this elusive model. Our crew went on a culinary trip to Florence previous summer and shared our experience via our Instagram account. Somebody reached out via DM to let us know he lives nearby and has a watch he wanted to show us. Little did we know his father was the owner of an all original, LNOS Crash! After meeting up with the family over some coffee and pastries, we managed to take home this incredible keepsake. After a full service at Cartier -It haven't had a service since the gentleman purchased it some 30 years ago- and some new boots (green Cartier croc strap) we are happy to present this exceptionally well-preserved Crash.
- extrasOriginal box and original papers
- year1991
- modelCrash
