You’ve won the Paris-Dakar rally twice on a motorcycle and you’re exhausted, dusty and barely know what time it is. Luckily the good people at Cartier had a solution to at least one of these. And you see it here: the remarkable Cartier Cheich watch, one of just four ever made and made available at Sotheby’s for auction. It’s safe to say that the world of high-end watches was more than excited, and for good reason.
These days the Dakar Rally, as it's now known, is held in Saudi Arabia. It’s still the most challenging rally raid there is. Back in the 1980s, its forerunner, the 20 day Paris-Dakar rally was even tougher and open to all comers. From French singing superstar Johnny Hallyday to the Prince of Monaco. One of the expert motorcyclists who took up the immense challenge of the deserts of west Africa was the Belgian Gaston Rahier, a hero in his home country to this day. A Cartier Cheich - this very watch - was his just reward for winning the Paris-Dakar twice on a BMW R80DS in 1984 and 1985. This, after almost having a hand severed in an accident just a few years earlier. Rarely has a golden honour more richly have been deserved by anyone in sport.
Inspired by the desert
The watch’s name is no accident. A cheich, also known as a tagelmust, is the traditional indigo blue headscarf used as both shield from the sun and from sandstorms by nomadic Tuareg men who live in and adjacent to the Sahara desert. Cartier designed their Cheich watch in white, yellow and rose gold, surrounding the dial with a golden version of the headscarf, in tribute both to the people who live under such tough conditions and to what double winners of the Paris-Dakar rally had to endure on their way to the finish line in Senegal’s capital city.
A fitting reward
Cartier’s design was in conjunction with Thierry Sabine, whose brainchild the Paris-Dakar rally was. Idea was it would be awarded to anyone who won their category - motorcycle, car or truck - twice. Only four examples of the Cartier Cheich were ever made. Cartier still has two. A third, made for Thierry Sabine who died in a helicopter crash in 1986, is considered lost. Gaston Rahier’s watch is the only example that was in private hands. This is, said understandably thrilled watch experts, a true unicorn.
Want it? Sadly, this remarkable timepiece now has a new owner. Against the auctioneer's estimate of £173,000-£346,000 the bidding came thick and fast from well-heeled collectors across the globe in this Sotheby’s sale. Result was that the Cartier Cheich sold for £742,000. Cheap given the arduous nature of the Paris-Dakar Rally, we’d say. Perhaps enter the current iteration - the Dakar Rally, run annually in Saudi Arabia - in the hope that a Cartier Cheich watch will be among the spoils when you win twice? We’ll be watching from the nearest sand dune.
Next up: The best Cartier watches to invest in.
