The “Cheich” is considered to be one of the rarest watches by Cartier. The watch was specifically created for whoever won the Paris-Dakar races twice in a row, also known as the Cartier challenge. The odds of this were considered impossible until Belgian motorcycle racer, Gaston Rahier, won the 6,200-mile race in 1984 and in 1985, making him the first and only winner of the Cartier Challenge. His reward was being the sole recipient of the uniquely designed Cartier Cheich watch celebrating his achievement.
The watch was unseen for 40 years until the recent auction at Sotheby’s. The watch fetched $1.1 million at Sotheby’s Paris Fine Watches auction, setting a new record for any watch by Cartier to sell at auction in Europe. Completely skyrocketing its $400,000 high estimate.
Inspired by the rally’s logo – the silhouetted face of a Tuareg tribesman wearing the traditional cotton head protector known as a ‘cheich’ – the watch is forged from three colours of 18 carat gold (white, rose and yellow) to create a monumental case that meticulously replicates every one of the garment’s soft folds.
The watch is also accompanied by the bespoke case in which it was presented to Mr. Rahier, the lid of which carries the legend ‘Trophee Paris Alger Dakar’ in gold script.
Only three Cheich watches are known to have been created: the one awarded to Mr. Rahier; another for a potential woman winner and a third made in 1985 for anyone else who achieved the necessary ‘double’. However, the latter two are never to be sold. Thus making this the rarest of the rare list.
Inspired by the rally’s logo – the silhouetted face of a Tuareg tribesman wearing the traditional cotton head protector known as a ‘cheich’ – the watch is forged from three colours of 18 carat gold (white, rose and yellow) to create a monumental case that meticulously replicates every one of the garment’s soft folds.
