The Cartier Watches Nobody Wanted in 1996 | Ref. 02
A 1996 auction catalog, some back-of-napkin math, and a few lessons for today's collectors.
Happy Memorial Day to those in the U.S. Before we get to today’s main event:
TAG Heuer Formula 1 for the Indy 500. I’ve been wearing this new release a bunch since it’s race weekend. It’s the first time I’ve had extended wrist time with an F1 Solargraph. Too expensive for what it is, but overall it’s harmless fun—the compact 38mm case wears nicely. The Indy 500 LE comes on the bracelet, and I wish they’d added one of the rubber F1 straps in the kit since it’s so much of the original vibe. It looks like the LE (limited to 1,110) is still available through some Indianapolis retailers. Thanks to the local subscriber who gave this to me!
If you like vintage sports watches, Loupe This is selling 40 watches from Patrick Parrish’s collection. Patrick’s a design dealer who also runs the Secret Watch Shop out of his studio in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I’ve visited before, and I love his eye for design and approach to collecting. A cool selection of Rolex, Breitling, Heuer, and more. One of my favorites is his Jaeger-LeCoultre Cornes de Vache. Here it is on my wrist from a visit to Brooklyn:
Here’s what it was like to collect Cartier 30 years ago.
“The Ref” is a weekly story about a sometimes-forgotten watch or moment in history. Sunday (Monday) morning is the perfect time to step away from the feed for a few blissfully naive minutes to remember the watches that were. Ref. 02 is about a moment when Cartier took center stage in the collecting world.
The Magical Art of Cartier is an auction catalog I recommend everyone pick up on eBay. In 1996, Antiquorum held a thematic Cartier sale, encompassing the “magnificent creations of this revered Parisian Maison from its inception in 1847 to the present.”
Antiquorum pioneered the thematic auction, beginning with The Art of Patek Philippe in 1989, and followed by sales dedicated to Breguet, Vacheron, British horology, and Cartier. Today, the catalogs are reference material.
It’s been 30 years since Magical Art, and with Sotheby’s selling hundreds of special Cartiers across its spring sales, it’s a good time to revisit that 1996 auction.
We’ll make a few direct comparisons of results between 1996 and 2026, see if the biggest results from 1996 hold up today, and end with a few collecting lessons.
First, I texted dealer Davide Parmigiani to ask if he was at the 1996 sale. Of course he was! I asked who else was there:
“Barracca was there for sure, Demesy, Wingate, [Dr. Helmut] Crott—all the dinosaurs including myself….”
Here’s how he described the scene:
“It was the golden era of Patrizzi, he was the absolute king of auctions at that time. The auction took place at the Hotel de Bregues in Geneva [now the Four Seasons], which was the room for all Antiquorum auctions. It was a sumptuous event with all the most important collectors of the period, of which you need to think most were Italians.
The room was full and the atmosphere was fabulous. After the sale, which was a great success, there was a big party. I remember I bought some pieces for clients but none for myself, too expensive!
Today, Christie’s holds its auctions at the Four Seasons in a ballroom decorated by massive chandelier, but Hotel de Bregues is perhaps best known for its Chf 50 club sandwich.
1996 vs. 2026
Magical Art featured 622 lots—mostly watches, but some jewelry. In addition to historical pieces, Cartier also made a few watches specifically for the auction.
Most notable were a series of Tank Guichets in yellow gold, rose gold, and platinum, three each. Remember, this was before the CPCP years, and Cartier hadn’t made the Guichet since the 1930s, when it made only a few.
Let’s start there.
[For perspective, the S&P 500 has grown 18x over the last 30 years.]
1/ Platinum Tank Guichet
