Cartier Crash White Gold NSO White Opaline Watch

Cartier and Paris are synonymous with one another. The definitively French brand was founded there, in the City of Lights, in 1847, but stayed there exclusively until 1902, when it opened a London outpost to coincide with King Edward VII's coronation. In London, Cartier flexed its creative muscles, designing some of the brand's most distinct pieces. No piece was quite as inventive as the Crash, however, a timepiece meant to look damaged, albeit artfully so. It's a 60s-era invention said to have been commissioned by British actor Stewart Granger and designed by Rupert Emmerson, who used the Maxi Oval as the basis, denting both sides to form points at both ends of the case. Older pieces fetch more than a million at auction, but modern-era NSO (special order) iterations are still plenty coveted — see, for example, this 2021 Cartier Crash powered by manual wound Calibre 1917 MC movement in white gold with a white opaline dial, blue hands, and the signature Cartier blue alligator strap.