Only Online Auction

Milan, Apr 17, 2025

LOT 27

CARTIER, SWITZERLAND, 8-DAY GOING PRE-ART-DECO CARRIAGE-CLOCK, QUARTER-REPEATER; SILVER AND ENAMEL

EUR 15,000 - 25,000

CHF 14,300 - 23,900 / HKD 130,000 - 214,000 / USD 16,500 - 27,500

A very fine and very rare, silver, enamel and agate, 8-day going, key-winding, vertical rectangular-shaped, pre-art deco carriage-clock, with quarter-repeater by two hammers on two steel gongs (activated by depressing the cabochon sapphire push-piece on the top). Silver cabinet with blue enamel (translucent enamel over guilloché engine-turning) décor; the side panels each with a rose-cut diamond in their centres; the top panel decorated en suite. White enamel dial with suspended Breguet numerals; rose-cut diamond-set “Fantasy Arrow” silver hands. Enamel bezel engraved "L'AMITIE VOUS L'OFFRE". Movement, rectangular, gilded-brass, two going barrels, platform with lateral lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensated balance with gold poising screws and blued steel flat hairspring, polished steel index-regulator; repeater work on the main plate, under the dial. With original Cartier leather box with the key


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 2-1

Very good

As new
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 2-01

Very good

HANDS Original

Brand Cartier, Switzerland

Model 8-DAY GOING PRE-ART-DECO CARRIAGE-CLOCK, QUARTER-REPEATER; SILVER AND ENAMEL

Year 1910

Case No. 16770

Length 50

Height 104

Width 68

Signature Dial

Accessories key and original Cartier leather box

Notes

Originally from the Desmarais Collection, subsequently passed down to the current owner.

Descended from a bold vision conceived in the 19th century, Henri (1825–1897) and Charles (1824–1878) Boutheroüe-Desmaraisestablished an industrial dynasty in 1861 with their company, Desmarais Frères, a trailblazer in petroleum refining and distribution. By 1878, they had constructed two refineries: one in Graville, near Le Havre, and another in Blaye, in the Gironde estuary. The company swiftly gained renown for its innovative products, such as the ultra-refined lamp oil Astraline and the premium oil Oriflamme, alongside a diverse portfolio that included Notre-Dame-de-l’Océan soaps and edible oils derived from peanuts and rapeseed. Their ingenuity and determination elevated the company to a position of prominence as one of France’s leading oil producers of the era, as well as a key petroleum distributor during the interwar years. In 1924, Desmarais Frères became a shareholder in the Compagnie Française des Pétroles (CFP), later known as Total, forging a strategic alliance. By the 1950s, the company had been progressively integrated into the CFP, which ultimately absorbed all operations of Desmarais Frères.
Paule Boutheroüe-Desmarais (1901, Paris – 1992, Louveciennes), Henri’s granddaughter, exemplified the enduring spirit of this legacy. In 1924, she married Georges Combe Saint-Macary (1897–1977), with whom she had two children before taking the rare step for her time of divorcing in the late 1930s. A woman of elegance and resolve, Paule made history in 1937 when she preserved the island of Port-Cros by purchasing it at auction, ensuring its natural beauty would be safeguarded. According to family tradition, this exquisite Cartier clock was originally gifted to Paule and was subsequently passed down through the generations—first to her daughter, Christiane Combe Saint-Macary, who married Count Pierre Tallien de Cabarrus (1924–2006), and then to her grandson, François, the consignor of this remarkable heirloom.



CONDITIONS AND INFORMATION FOR BUYERS.
The purchase price payable by a buyer will be the sum of the final bid price plus the buyer’s premium, together with any applicable sales or compensating use tax. In addition to the hammer price, the buyer’s premium is payable as follows: 26% of the hammer price on each lot.
Please look carefully at all the photos as they are an integral part of the description. Any defect not mentioned in the descriptions but visible on the photos will be considered as described and cannot lead to any claim. The dimensions are given as an indication and may slightly differ from the measures mentioned by the manufacturers especially for contemporary watches. The photos are not retouched. Colors may differ from reality. For timepieces, we guarantee neither the functioning nor the precision of the movement, nor the water-resistance of the case. In addition, please note that movements, parts of mechanisms or cases may be incomplete.
The lots are sold “as is”, described to the best of our knowledge and cannot be returned. Once the online bid is placed by the bidder, it cannot be cancelled.