We’ve grown used to seeing jaw-dropping auction results for two brands: Rolex and Patek Philippe. But recently, the prices of one French-founded jewellery and watchmaking house have begun to climb. That’s right, super clone Cartier uk is hot, with prices rising not only across the more common models, but also the top lots in auction catalogues. But what has caused the vintage Cartier market to soar?
At the beginning of May, Phillips held their Geneva Watch Auction: XIII, which grabbed headlines for offering no less than four Patek Philippe Ref. 2499s in the same sale. While all of the 2499s sold well between CHF400,000 and CHF2.4M, the most surprising result was that of a diminutive yellow gold luxury Cartier replica watches, nicknamed the Pebble in the UK and the Baseball in the US. Against an estimate of CHF50,000 – 100,000 it sold for a whopping CHF403,200, making it the most expensive vintage Cartier ever sold.
Then, at a recent Watches of Knightsbridge sale, another shapely Cartier was due to hit the block. The Cartier Octagonal would sell for £120,192, four times higher than it’s pre-sale estimate and setting another exciting high water mark for a Cartier reference. Was this result the beginning of a trend? I asked H. Vu, a well-known Cartier enthusiast with an Instagram page dedicated to his passion (find him at @13byvu) and his answer was unflinching.
“It’s an ongoing trend, for sure. Top quality super clone Cartier is undeniably hot right now,” he explained. “I believe that this is only the beginning, as this ‘trend’ is still relatively new as we are still seeing record numbers achieved almost by the day. So yes, in my eyes it will definitely continue for some time. The rise in interest, as well as prices fetched at auctions, logically, will also lead to rare or unseen models popping up everywhere. One high result leads to many other examples showing up out of nowhere.”
This maps closely to the market reality, with another Cartier Pebble that has recently emerged up for sale at the Bonhams Fine Watches Sale in London this week. It has a pre-sale estimate of £150,000 – £200,000, which would have been a laughable amount six weeks ago at nearly double the upper estimate of Phillips. Is this simply an awakening by collectors that Swiss movement copy Cartier has been comparatively undervalued in recent years?
Yes, according to George Cramer, another leading Cartier expert and collector (@george.cramer on Instagram). “Cartier has always been undervalued over the years and it was almost normal that the auction results always lagged behind, for example, when compared with, Patek Philippe. With “Collection Privée, Cartier Paris” (CPCP), the brand has shown what their heritage is and what Cartier is capable of. Yet it took years, after Cartier CPCP clone uk had already come to an end in 2008, before the real collectors noticed the attraction of the brand, and especially of CPCP.”
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