Cartier
Cheich
The Cartier Challenge was a trophy, not a product. From 1983 Cartier promised it to any racer who won the Paris-Dakar in two consecutive years, and the case took its shape from the cheich, the headscarf of the Tuareg. Of the four made in the period, two were made in 1983 at the launch, one for the rally's founder Thierry Sabine, and a fourth for a next winner who never came. Gaston Rahier, who won in 1984 and 1985, was the only man ever awarded one. This fifth watch was made in 2010, in white gold, for a collector rather than a winner.
Specification
Case
- Material
- 18k white gold
- Back
- Secured by four screws
- Size
- 38 mm length x 27 mm width
- Numbers
- No. 1, 3316AF and 62020C
Movement
- Calibre
- Quartz, jewelled
Details
- Dial
- white
Price
- Price
- A unique commission with no retail price. It sold at Sotheby's in Hong Kong in September 2026, for HK$26,520,000 including fees, about US$3.4 million, against an estimate of HK$8 to 40 million. Sotheby's publishes results only behind a login, so the figure is the one reported by the watch press. (Hodinkee, as of Sep 2026)