The ultra-rare Cartier
World Time clock
On our treasure hunt my brother Danny (@vintagewatchfam) and I ran into something exceptional on a gloomy Sunday afternoon at a flea market in NYC.
We stumbled upon an unorganized table that had not one but two clocks that piqued our interest. One was a Cartier World Time clock which has a custom inscription on the top reading “Lanvin-Charles Of The Ritz Inc 1964-1971” and a Tiffany & Co brass clock.
Flea market find of the year?
In the grand scheme of things, it’s just a brass Cartier desk clock which would fall into the category of a $500-$1000 clock but something about this one seemed extraordinary. We did some research and found that this exact clock was sold on auction in 2010 in Hong Kong during the weakest time of the Hong Kong dollar at 7.4622 to 1 USD for a total of $75,000 HKD approximately $10,0050 in USD without auction fees. However, it wasn’t the same. The one sold in 2010 also had a custom inscription that read “American Express” meaning it was given as a corporate gift to an employee at American Express but didn’t strike us as being more valuable and collectible than the Lanvin.
Lanvins president
The owner of the two historic clocks told us he purchased them both in an estate sale of the Long Island Lanvin home which got us curious so we decided to take a leap of faith to purchase them both hoping we struck gold. Here is the important history we found.
Edouard L. Cournand was the former president of Lanvin until 1963. When the two companies merged it was changed into Lanvin-Charles of the Ritz. Edouard was then named honorary chairman. He established Lanvin Parfums Inc. and was known for the creation of the slogan “Promise her anything but give her Arpege” in the 50s. In 1975 Edouard died in his New York City home on Fifth Ave due to a stroke.
Charles Jundt founded his own cosmetics company in 1919. In 1926 he began marketing beauty products under the name “Charles of the Ritz”. In the early 1950s, the company expanded into the luxury space of department stores like Saks Fifth Ave and Neiman Marcus. In 1964 Charles Jundt of Charles of the Ritz and Lanvin formed an iconic merger between the two major fragrance companies which was now known as Lanvin-Charles of the Ritz.
This company merger would be memorable to Lanvin but what better to remember the important merger than to be gifted a Cartier world time clock from Charles Jundt founder of Charles of the Ritz.
The original image of the American Express Cartier clock was sold in 2010 via antiquorum auction
https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/cartier-lot-241-150
With all the info above we learned that this is not just a clock but a significant point in history. We felt it should be shared with our community of collectors and like-minded friends of vintage brands such as Cartier and Lanvin whom we share a passionate love for.
About the clock
This Cartier World time 8-day clock features 24 different time zones including New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Hawaii, and many more. The overall condition is great. The dial of the clock is in great condition. It features gilt black hour indices with matching black hour and minute hands as well as the original “Cartier 8 Days” and Swiss stamp. There is light fading at the center of the clock by the Indian Ocean. The case is in good condition as well no dents on the case however, there is surface dirt and grime on the clock from sitting out all of these years. The length of the clock is about 5 inches, the width is an inch and a half, and the height is about 5 inches. Powered by its original movement from Concordwatch Co. and still runs perfectly with no issues. It is a manually wound clock with a knob that folds up and down and to top it all off the original serial number is still intact. This museum-grade Cartier clock is now available for viewing in our private archive by request only!
The second piece of history is this Tiffany & Co brass desk clock that also has a custom message. Given to Edouard Cournand who was the head of Lanvin Perfumes. It states “With sincere gratitude” and has the year 1966 and 2 more inscriptions reading PH Sagarin and VCA written under the time display. There is little to no information online about the history of the clock. It was was purchased as a set from the flea market seller who purchased it from the Lanvin home. If you have any information feel free to contact us.
