Tyler The Creator loves Cartier watches. With the help of an eminent specialist of the brand, we’re going over his collection, item by item.
By Clément Mazarian.
We knew he liked Cartier watches. Tyler The Creator confirms this by revealing his private collection to the American magazine Robb Report. In this instance, eight watches, all iconic items bearing the famous watchmaker’s signature. So, what models does he own ? How much is his collection worth ? Anthony Marquis, CEO of the company Watchfid, which specialises in unique, collector’s watches, and author of numerous reference books on watchmaking, is himself a watch collector. He answers these questions for us.
“His collection is very interesting because it’s very “anti-bling” Marquis says. His watches are small, without ostentatious jewellery, and come in various shapes. They display perfectly the flawlessness of the Cartier brand, the finesse of its designs, and it’s timeless creativity. In terms of rarity and monetary value, we could without any issue replace the two modern watches of his collection, the Santos and the Tank, with their older, now historical counterparts.
But what we have here is the opinion of a veteran. Nonetheless, his next purchase could be a Tonneau, an iconic model of the brand and first wristwatch in history, sold for the first time in 1906. The Santos had been created in 1904, but wasn’t made available for purchase. When one loves Cartier, the amateurs’ first purchases are often the following: Santos, Tonneau, et Tank.”
(credit Robb Report)
1. BAGUETTE COULISSANTES. “This is a gold watch for women from the 1940s. As opposed to a Jaeger Lecoultre Reverso where the dial can turn, in this case the dial appears when one slides the baguette following its length. Like many other watches in his collection, Tyler bought this one at auction, namely the MONACO LEGEND AUCTION, 88 CARTIER, in 2021.”
2. SANTOS DUMONT. “It is a modern gold Santos, probably quartz operated. It is likely to be a woman’s watch. Additionally, the bracelet is pink, which supports my theory, as well as the proportion of the watch when worn on the wrist.”
3. BAIGNOIRE LONDON. “This watch is interesting because it belongs to the London Cartier production: a Baignoire for women. As opposed to traditional Baignoires, this one is recognisable through its Roman numerals set in a circle in the centre, unlike the traditional oval shape. The numbers are thick and the brand’s logo is written in italic, typical of what Cartier created in London in the early 1970s. I’d say this watch was made in 1968.”
4. TANK MUST. “Here we have a quartz Tank Must with a green crocodile leather bracelet. As opposed to the previous models, this watch is made of vermeil: a base of pure silver 925, covered by 18 carats gold. As for the size, I believe it to be a series 3, therefore a small model.”
5. CRASH. “A Cartier Crash Paris from 1991 in gold. The ‘original’ Crash was produced in 1967 in London, less than 20 models. There is also another series in gold created in London in 1980. Finally, in 1991, Cartier created a limited collection of 400 signed gold watches in Paris. These last series from 1991 sell between 200K and 300K in euros, while the Crash London of 1967 can fetch a price as high as a million euros.”
6. TANK CARRÉ OBUS. “A quartz gold model from the 1980s and 1990s named the Tank Carré Obus, inspired like many others by the 1930s models. The term ‘Obus’ is a nod to the shape of coves.”
7. CYLINDRE. “This steel watch is called the cylinder because when you look at it from the side the glass isn’t flat: it is instead a half cylinder. It is a woman’s watch from the 1950s with a manuel calibre Jaeger-LeCoultre.”
8. TANK LC DATE. “This last watch is a Louis Cartier Tank in gold with dates, likely quartz powered.”
Note : to be exhaustive, we should add to the watches in the photo of Tyler's wrist, a ninth piece, freshly purchased: a Pebble reissued by Cartier last month, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the model.
