Weekly Wind Down | Sales Highlights including watches from Cartier, Rolex and Laurent Ferrier

Few watch manufacturers boast a back catalogue as rich as Cartier. The man himself, Mr Louis Cartier, approached watch design from a jeweller’s perspective, creating iconic shapes like the Santos, Tank and Tortue. In 2006, the French Maison launched the Rotonde, which celebrates the more traditional circular form but uses this to showcase intricate movements and a range of complications. 

Crafted from 18K white gold, the 42mm polished case of this Rotonde de Cartier ‘Jour et Nuit’ stands out against Cartier's typically angular designs. It also demonstrates that the brand is more than just a jeweller and is capable of crafting high horology pieces.  The watch features a unique dial, with Roman numerals for hours in the upper half and Arabic numerals for minutes in the lower half. Hours are indicated by a rotating disk with a sun motif for daytime and a moon motif for nighttime. The minutes are displayed using a retrograding hand. This unique take on time telling encapsulates the best of Cartier’s creative and technical expertise. Recently sold on Watch Collecting for £9,450. 

A Rolex with a ticking seconds hand indicates one of two things - either it’s counterfeit or it’s something very special. This vintage Tru-Beat is well and truly in the latter and is the only time the Crown has incorporated a dead-seconds complication into one of its watches.   

This horological feat reduces the standard sweep of a mechanical movement to just 3,600 beats per hour (one tick per second), creating a fascinating optical illusion. Using two gears and a pallet fork, it transforms five small sweeps into a single spring-loaded jump per second. Rolex only briefly crafted watches with this unique feature, offering an eccentric rarity from the world’s most recognised luxury brand.  Recently sold on Watch Collecting for £9,500.  

Laurent Ferrier is a bit of a guru in the watch world.  He spent 37 years at Patek Philippe and was instrumental in the release of the brand’s most revered references. Apparently he’s pretty handy behind the wheel too, taking part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on more than one occasion. So, some impressive pedigree then? 

Within the catalogue of his eponymous brand sits the Galet Square. Its distinctive cushion-shaped case is intended to assert a bolder presence on the wrist compared to the brand’s more classically-styled references. This example is finished in polished stainless steel and is paired with a blue dial featuring an appealing vertical satin-brushed finish. The back is equally impressive, showcasing a meticulously hand finished movement with a micro rotor. Whichever side you’re admiring, this is a bit of a gem in the world of independent watchmaking. Recently sold on Watch Collecting for £20,000.