{"id":108341,"date":"2021-04-21T09:28:39","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T14:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/all-destinations\/la-pendule-mysterieuse-un-mythe-signe-cartier\/"},"modified":"2021-04-21T09:28:39","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T14:28:39","slug":"the-mystery-clock-a-cartier-legend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/en\/so-barnes-en\/so-secret\/the-mystery-clock-a-cartier-legend\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mystery Clock: a Cartier legend"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>The Mystery Clocks produced by Cartier in the \u201920s and \u201930s are coveted among watch enthusiasts. The clock presented for sale by Piasa on 19\u00a0May is one of a kind. SoBARNES explains why.<\/h4>\n<p>When horology becomes an art in itself\u2026 In 1912, aged just 28, watchmaker Maurice Cou\u00ebt drew on the work of famous illusionist Jean-Eug\u00e8ne Robert-Houdin to develop the \u201cMystery Clocks\u201d that would become Cartier icons. A true miracle of watchmaking: the hands are not directly linked to the movement but attached to two rock crystal discs with a serrated metal edge that is operated by a rack and pinion system hidden in the frame of the case. Which gives the illusion that the hands magically levitate and float on the dial, as the movement is housed in the base of the clock.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"PIASA | La Pendule myst\u00e9rieuse - CARTIER\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_HFKcSA-VTo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The mysterious Art Deco clock presented for sale by Piasa, stamped by Maurice Cou\u00ebt, is a clear reference to the Empire State Building in New York, inaugurated in 1931, whose silhouette is duplicated on the hands. Another distinctive feature is the use of onyx and rhodonite on the plinth: from the Greek rhodon (rose) for its colour, rhodonite is not commonly used at Cartier \u2013 in fact it is the only known example \u2013 and is certainly the most surprising element in the composition of this Mystery Clock.<\/p>\n<p>The production of this marvel required the intervention of no fewer than six specialists from Cartier\u2019s Parisian workshops (a goldsmith, an enameller, a lapidary, a setter, an engraver and a polisher) over a period of 12 months. Some 90 Mystery Clocks were manufactured up until the \u201930s, with production discreetly starting up again after the war, then again in the 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-108341 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/en\/piasa-pendule-mysterieuse-cartier-face-2\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/piasa-pendule-mysterieuse-cartier-face-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/piasa-pendule-mysterieuse-cartier-face-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/piasa-pendule-mysterieuse-cartier-face-130x130.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/en\/pendule-mystere-cartier-piasa-dos-2\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pendule-mystere-cartier-piasa-dos-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pendule-mystere-cartier-piasa-dos-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pendule-mystere-cartier-piasa-dos-130x130.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Presented at auction for the first time, this exceptional piece dating from the \u201930s had not appeared on the market since its creation by Cartier Paris and comes from the private collection of legendary auctioneer and academician Maurice Rheims (1910-2003). Which only adds to its appeal and explains its estimated price of between \u20ac400,000 and \u20ac600,000. No small amount, that\u2019s for sure, but you have to admit you\u2019d quite like to be the object of envy among your friends and neighbours with such a piece displayed on your desk!<\/p>\n<p>Before leaving you to your bids, we couldn't end without the SoBARNESpedia fact: you may be wondering what Jean-Eug\u00e8ne Robert-Houdin has to do with any of this... Born in Blois in 1805, and considered the inventor of modern illusionism, Houdin started out working in his father\u2019s and father-in-law's watch-shops. He made a name for himself at the Exhibition of French Industry in 1839 with the presentation of his \u201cmystery clock\u201d, the mechanism for which, once reworked, would go on to inspire the Cartier clocks.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:laurent@sobarnes.com\">laurent@sobarnes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>--<\/p>\n<p>Infos\u00a0:<\/p>\n<p>Piasa, 118, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honor\u00e9, 75008 Paris \u2013 France \/\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.piasa.fr\/fr\/future-auctions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Piasa.fr<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Mystery Clocks produced by Cartier in the \u201920s and \u201930s are coveted among watch enthusiasts. The clock presented for sale by Piasa on 19\u00a0May is one of a kind. SoBARNES explains why. When horology becomes an art in itself\u2026 In 1912, aged just 28, watchmaker Maurice Cou\u00ebt drew on the work of famous illusionist Jean-Eug\u00e8ne Robert-Houdin to develop the \u201cMystery Clocks\u201d that would become Cartier icons. A true miracle of watchmaking: the hands are not directly linked to the movement but attached to two rock crystal discs with a serrated metal edge that is operated by a rack and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6568,"featured_media":108262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[552,553],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v16.4 (Yoast SEO v16.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Mystery Clock: a Cartier legend - SoBarnes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/en\/so-barnes-en\/so-secret\/the-mystery-clock-a-cartier-legend\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Mystery Clock: a Cartier legend - SoBarnes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Mystery Clocks produced by Cartier in the \u201920s and \u201930s are coveted among watch enthusiasts. The clock presented for sale by Piasa on 19\u00a0May is one of a kind. SoBARNES explains why. When horology becomes an art in itself\u2026 In 1912, aged just 28, watchmaker Maurice Cou\u00ebt drew on the work of famous illusionist Jean-Eug\u00e8ne Robert-Houdin to develop the \u201cMystery Clocks\u201d that would become Cartier icons. 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