The First Cartier Tortue Minute Repeater

Ranked second in the list of the most expensive Cartier watches ever sold is the first Cartier Tortue Minute Repeater. It was sold in 1931 and was found in Cartier's archives in 1929.

When Antiquorum sold this Tortue Minute Repeater in 2002, the lot description stated that it was the "only minute repeating watch known to have been created by Cartier during the Art Deco era" (more on that claim in a minute). In 1929, Cartier registered the yellow gold watch, which was eventually released in 1931. It has Breguet blue steel hands and a European Watch & Clock Co. movement, which was a common supplier of Cartier movements at the time. The gongs that chime the time are triggered by the slide on the left side of the casing. It was powered by a rhodium-plated M. Cal. 11"' movement with 18 jewels, a straight-line lever escapement, and a Breguet balance spring. It was 32 mm in diameter and had Breguet blued steel hands.

This watch has also been published in books, according to Antiquorum, and was previously featured in an Antiquorum catalog from 1982.

Price: 993,500 CHF ($1 million)