A one-off white-gold Cartier Cheich – a watch originally conceived as a prize for competitors who won the Paris-Dakar Rally in consecutive years – became the most expensive Cartier wristwatch ever sold at auction on 19 September, fetching HK$26.5 million (US$3.4 million) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong.
Made circa 2010 and one of only five known examples of the model, the watch sold after a nine-minute bidding battle, surpassing the CHF 1.6 million (US$2 million) paid for a Cartier London Crash at Christie's Geneva in May.
The result led Sotheby’s two-day Important Watches auction, which totalled HK$426 million (US$55 million) – the highest ever for a watch sale at Sotheby’s and the most valuable watch auction held in Asia by any auction house.
The unique white gold Cartier Cheich wristwatch was hammered at HK$21 million
Lot 2292 | Cartier | Cheich, a historically important and unique white gold wristwatch (Auction record for the most valuable Cartier wristwatch ever sold at auction)
Circa 2010
Case number: No. 1, 3316AF and 62020C
Estimate: HK$8,000,000 - 40,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$21,000,000
Sold: HK$26,520,000
The Cartier Cheich was created for the Paris-Dakar Rally, the endurance race founded in 1978 by French motorcycle racer Thierry Sabine and covering roughly 10,000 kilometres from the French capital to Dakar, Senegal.
Cartier became an early sponsor, and in 1983 the brand’s then-president, Alain-Dominique Perrin, launched the Cartier Challenge, offering a specially designed watch to any competitor who won the same category in consecutive editions of the rally. Its name and design were inspired by the Tuareg people of the Sahara, whose men traditionally wear blue headscarves known in French as cheichs.
Only one person ever claimed the prize: Belgian motocross champion Gaston Rahier, who won the motorcycle category in both 1984 and 1985. The following year, Sabine died in a helicopter crash during the rally, and the challenge was discontinued. Never sold commercially, the Cheich remains one of Cartier’s rarest wristwatch designs.
Cartier "London Crash" 1990 | Sold: CHF 1,585,000, Christie's Geneva, 2026
The present lot
Four original Cheich watches were produced in yellow gold. The first two were created in 1983 alongside the launch of the Cartier Challenge – one men's and one women's. A third was made for Sabine, though its current whereabouts are unknown. After Rahier claimed the men's example in 1985, a fourth was produced in anticipation of the next winner but was never awarded.
The women's and fourth examples are now held in Cartier's heritage collection, while Rahier's was sold by his family at Sotheby's Paris in 2022 for €1 million (US$1.2 million) to celebrated collector-dealer Eric Ku.
The example sold in Hong Kong is a later, fifth Cheich, made in 2010 as a special commission for Giorgio Seragnoli, co-author of Cartier Bianco and a prominent collector of white-metal Cartier watches. Accompanied by a unique presentation box and a certificate identifying it as No. 1, it is the only known white-gold Cheich in existence.
The back of the case is engraved with "No.1"
Cartier "Cheich" unique yellow gold watch awarded to Gaston Rahier | Sold: €1,003,000 (US$1.2 million), Sotheby's Paris, 2022
The result extends a strong run for vintage Cartier at auction. At Sotheby's Hong Kong in the spring, the debut of The Shapes of Cartier – the first instalment of what Sotheby’s described as the largest and most comprehensive collection of vintage Cartier watches ever offered at auction – helped drive Important Watches to HK$414.2 million (US$52.9 million), then a record for any Sotheby's watch sale.
Its top lot, a yellow-gold Cartier London Crash, sold for HK$15.6 million (US$1.99 million) to Valuence, the Japanese secondhand luxury group also known for buying the US$10.1 million prototype Hermès Birkin. The result briefly set an auction record for a Cartier wristwatch before being surpassed at Christie’s Geneva in May. The Cheich eclipsed both Crash results at more than 1.5 times the previous figure.
The present sale also set a record for the Cartier Pebble, with a London Midi Pebble from circa 1973–74 achieving HK$3.8 million (around US$494,000), more than double its estimate.
Cartier "London Crash" 1987 | Sold: HK$15,616,000, Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2026
Lot 2242 | Cartier, London | Midi Pebble, an extremely rare mid-sized yellow gold wristwatch with geometric off-set dial and original gold deployant buckle (Auction record for the model)
Circa 1973-74
Diameter: 28 mm
Estimate: HK$950,000 - 1,500,000
Hammer Price: HK$3,000,000
Sold: HK$3,840,000
Other Highlight Lots:
Lot 2400 | F.P. Journe | Tourbillon Souverain, an important limited edition pink gold tourbillon wristwatch with black mother-of-pearl dial, constant force remontoire, dead beat seconds and power reserve indication
Made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sincere Fine Watches, circa 2005
Diameter: 40 mm
Estimate: HK$15,000,000 - 30,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$25,000,000
Sold: HK$31,400,000
Lot 2579 | F.P. Journe | Tourbillon Souverain, a limited edition platinum tourbillon wristwatch with mother-of-pearl dial, constant force remontoire, dead beat seconds and power reserve indication
Made for Sincere Fine Watches, circa 2006
Diameter: 40 mm
Estimate: HK$15,000,000 - 30,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$18,500,000
Sold: HK$23,470,000
Lot 2387 | F.P. Journe | Répétition Souveraine, a stainless steel semi-skeletonised minute repeating wristwatch with power reserve, smoked sapphire crystal and bracelet
Circa 2022
Diameter: 40 mm
Estimate: HK$2,400,000 - 4,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$9,500,000
Sold: HK$12,160,000
Lot 2596 | Patek Philippe | Reference 5074R-018, a possibly unique pink gold minute repeating perpetual calendar wristwatch with cathedral gongs, moon phases, 24 hour, leap year indication and special black dial
In single factory seal, circa 2017
Diameter: 42 mm
Estimate: HK$10,000,000 - 20,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$9,000,000
Sold: HK$11,520,000
Lot 2414 | F.P. Journe | Octa Chronographe, an important platinum flyback chronograph wristwatch with date, pink gold salmon dial and brass movement
Circa 2002
Diameter: 38 mm
Estimate: HK$12,000,000 - 20,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$9,000,000
Sold: HK$11,520,000
Auction Details:
Auction House: Sotheby's Hong Kong
Sale: Important Watches
Date: 18 - 19 September 2026
Number of Lots: 372
Sale Total: HK$426,172,080 (US$55 million)