An icon of the swinging sixties crafted by the great maker of shaped watches, the Cartier Crash remains not just one of the most radical designs born in 1967 but one of the greatest throughout the decades. With a mysterious origin of the birth of this model, rumour has it that the inspiration comes from a melted Cartier Baignoire from the fire of a car crash, others refer it to the surrealist Salvador Dali’s most recognised work, Persistence of Memory. While the tale of the timepiece is compelling and romantic, the origin was addressed in Francesca Cartier Brickell’s book, The Cartiers, where she recounts a conversation with her grandfather Jean-Jacques Cartier, about how the audacity of the design was sketched out with artisan Rupert Emmerson.

Today, the Cartier Crash has become somewhat of a cultural icon, adorning the wrists of celebrities and artists alike. It represents everything that Cartier is best known for: merging design, form and function together which transforms a timepiece beyond a "watch" and into a piece of art.

Whereas the original London Crash of the 1960s was a special commission piece the, the present watch from 1991 represents the introduction of the Crash into the Cartier catalogue as a production piece. Offered by its original owner and in excellent condition and accompanied by its full set of accessories, the present watch is number 350 of a limited edition of 400 pieces.