The perfect fake Cartier Cheich won by Rahier has never been sold. It remained in his possession until his 2005 death, and it has since remained with his family in Belgium.
“It comes directly from Gaston’s family,” says Benoît Colson, a Paris-based International Specialist for Sotheby’s who worked with the descendants. “It has never been shown or exhibited prior to this sale. It was a most precious thing for Gaston, so he only ever wore it once, when he appeared on television after winning the Paris-Dakar Rally; that was it.”
I haven’t had the opportunity to inspect or handle the super clone watch in person, but looking over the images our photographer shot, the 40-year-old watch does appear to be in immaculate condition, with only a slight spot visible near six o’clock. Interestingly, the luxury fake Cartier Cheich features no additional engraving indicating its purpose as a trophy. It’s only on the watch’s original bespoke case, a triangular box in classic 1:1 replica Cartier red that is included in the sale, that a small gilt label appears reading Trophée Paris Alger Dakar under the Cartier signature.
Rahier’s AAA quality replica Cartier Cheich carries an estimate of between €200,000 and 400,000, but some of the Cartier experts and collectors I’ve spoken with recently have even higher expectations. Headlines have been dominated by the high prices achieved by exclusive and rare top super clone Cartier form watches that have appeared at auction over the past two years. Phillips sold a remarkable 1972 Swiss movement fake Cartier Pebble for €362,000 at its Geneva auction in spring 2021. And who can forget the jaw-dropping $1.65 million price achieved by a 1967 Cartier London Crash on the online auction platform Loupe This back in May of this year. It’s possible that the Cartier Cheich replica for sale surpasses both of those results.
“There are so many different collector profiles that could be interested in this watch,” says Colson. “You obviously have the top super clone Cartier collectors that have been waiting for this watch for many, many years. I think car collectors will also be very interested given the Paris-Dakar connection. And you also have high-profile, high net-worth individuals who will want to have the best quality replica Cartier that no one has and no one will ever get.”
Colson raises a fair point. The best quality replica Cartier Cheich UK is a wholly unique watch. The two examples owned by Cartier will never be sold, and the fourth example is lost for good. The Swiss movement fake Cartier Crash pieces that have performed so well recently, for instance, are extremely rare but not one-of-a-kind in the same way as the Cheich.
It will be absolutely fascinating to see where the 1:1 super clone Cartier Cheich lands after bidding closes on the online sale on September 30, 2022. Although I’d love to see a watch like the Cartier Cheich replica online uk sold via a live, in-person auction, Sotheby’s has admittedly had tremendous success with their online auctions, most recently setting a world record for a Rolex Day-Date during a London-based online sale earlier this year.