This story originally appeared on the Gents Cafe Newsletter. You can subscribe here.
As a consumed watch enthusiast, I never miss a chance to go through the catalogues of major auction houses when important sales are held. As the years go by and my taste evolves, I tend to browse past the ubiquitous Submariners, Daytonas and Royal Oaks, and save my appreciation for diminutive, quirky watches from the Fifties and Sixties – Gilbert Albert Pateks, obscure Vacherons and such.
This past May, however, I found myself in complete awe of the most unusual and unexpected timekeeper I’d ever seen. An arguably Baroque, seemingly overdone, unique table clock made by no other than Cartier in the late Twenties. At first (and second, and maybe even third) glance, this piece could not sit further away from what I considered my sweet spot, and yet it captured me in a way I couldn’t predict – or even explain at first.
It’s imposing, heavy, and decorated to an extent that some wouldn’t hesitate to define kitsch: created around a green jade bowl from the 17th Century, it was designed in the Chinoiserie style, a popular oriental-inspired 1920s current. It incorporates emeralds, coral, lapislazuli, nephrite and black enamel, cut and inlaid according to the highest possible standards – as expected from the king of jewellers. The excellent craftsmanship is paired with a complex and ingenuous beating heart, a key-wound movement with a powerful magnet in lieu of traditional hands; the magnet moves a miniature Koi fish floating in the water-filled jade basin.
As I looked at the pictures, its beauty was suddenly revealed: I realised the unmatched and possibly unmatchable quality of the clock transcends taste and trends, as objective beauty – if it ever existed – would. It’s impossible not to acknowledge the superb skills involved in crafting the piece, the dedication requested to source the ancient jade bowl, and the intelligence that went into the design of such a graceful composition.
It is the kind of object that would feel at home in a period-correct Art Deco interior, as well as in a contemporary loft on an industrial steel table. To me, it’s nothing short of a Caravaggio – a creation belonging to a very specific time in history but also timeless in the best possible sense. Something that will outlive its custodian and resonate forever with people, striking the right chords in their hearts and minds.
Sure enough, I was not the only person bewitched by the Pendule Magnetique, as it exceeded all expectations when the hammer fell north of 2.3 million USD. Anyway, I can still dream of being a millionaire by the next time it comes up for sale…
