If you thought the desert could offer nothing but barrenness and desolation, you were wrong. This is the story of a timepiece that is nothing short of mythical, which saw the light of day in the aforementioned place. There are watches that are born to be sold. Others to be collected. But then, rarely, there is a watch that is born to be won, and only by those who dare to cross the hell of sand.
The Cartier Cheich is not just a timepiece: it is a trophy, a relic, a tangible fragment of legend. Made in just four examples (plus one created years later, in secret), the Cheich is among the rarest and most mysterious watches ever produced by the Parisian Maison. Yet behind its gold splendor beats the beating heart of the Paris-Dakar, the craziest and cruelest race man has ever invented.
The Story of the Cartier Cheich
It is 1983. The world is still captivated by the brutal romance of the Paris-Dakar, an epic race through thousands of miles of sand, stone and deadly silence. Its creator, Thierry Sabine, is a visionary: a man who dreams of a rally where the stopwatch is less fearsome than enemies. Together with Alain-Dominique Perrin, president of Cartier, he decides to create a prize that can stand the test of time as the dunes resist the wind.
Thus the Cartier Challenge was born: an almost impossible feat. The only way to win the Cartier Cheich watch is to triumph two years in a row in the same rally category. A titanic feat, which no one dares to consider likely. But that’s exactly the point: you don’t give away the Cheich, you win it with hard work, sweat, risking death.
The design of the Cartier Cheich
The design of the Cheich is a sublime tribute to the Tagelmust, the Tuareg headdress that protects desert nomads from the relentless sun. The tagelmust is a long cotton sash, usually between 3 and 5 meters long, but which can be as long as 12 meters, wrapped around the head and face of the Tuareg in such a way as to form both a turban and a veil that covers the face, leaving only a slit for the eyes free. The Paris-Dakar logo represents him stylized: a veiled, mysterious, emblematic figure. From that logo the watch was born.
Signing the style is Jacques Diltoer, the creative mind of Cartier in those years. The result is an asymmetrical masterpiece built in a symphony of yellow, pink and white gold. The curves of the case recall the draperies of the cheich, the dunes of the desert. There are no edges. Everything is fluid, almost organic.
The understated and perfectly balanced dial is framed by a rectangular minute track in the Maison’s classic Chemin de Fer style, or Chemin de Fer, and a blue cabochon crown, a distinctive gem we find on every Cartier.
The Cartier Cheich is adopts a manual movement based on the caliber FE 664 Made by Frédéric Piguet, then part of the same supply network as Cartier, (non-quartz except for the fifth example), and reflects the Maison’s artisanal and refined approach to creating highly personalized and history-rich commissioned timepieces like this one.
Gaston Rahier, the only winner of the priceless prize.
As fate would have it, one man was worthy of the Cartier Cheich. His name is Gaston Rahier, a Belgian motocross champion who triumphed in the motorcycle category in 1984 and 1985 , riding his BMW. Small in stature but gigantic in talent, Rahier received the watch from Perrin’s own hands.
The Cheich becomes part of his story. Rahier treasures it carefully, away from the spotlight. After his death, the watch remains in the family’s care for more than 30 years, until it is auctioned at Sotheby’s in September 2022 for a record $1.1 million. The only Cheich actually “lived,” the only one to have left the sand to shine in collectors’ display cases.
The Cartier Cheich today
Cartier officially produced four examples: the Rahier’s male version, a smaller diamond variant intended for the women’s category, and a second men’s one that was never assigned (both kept in Cartier’s historical collection), and finally a specimen given to Thierry Sabine, perhaps as a symbolic tribute, now considered lost after the founder’s tragic death in a plane crash in 1986.
Each of these clocks is a universe unto itself. None is identical to the other. They are objects born to defy time, but also the probability
In 2010, quietly, Cartier made a fifth Cheich at the request of Italian collector Giorgio Seragnoli. In white gold and with a quartz movement, it is an absolute unicum. On the case back, engraved “No. 1,” as if to say that although it is the last, it has a dignity all its own. Cartier has never replicated the model again, nor will it (we sincerely hope otherwise).
This Cheich is the missing link. It is not part of the original Paris-Dakar myth, but it is its modern celebration. It is the posthumous recognition of an icon, destined to shine in the silence of private collections.
Cartier is known for many iconic creations: the Tank, the Santos, the Ballon Bleu, but none of these has the narrative power of the Cheich. It is a watch that cannot be bought, except when history itself allows it. It was not born to adorn the wrists of businessmen or Hollywood stars. It was born to combine the savoir-faire of Parisian jewelry with the brutality of African sand.
It has never had industrial production. It was never advertised. It has never been seen in display cases. Yet today, every major collector dreams of owning it, or at least, of being able to get close enough to touch it. The Cartier Cheich represents what many luxury items lack today: a sense of authentic achievement. In a world where value is often determined by list price or marketing, this watch reminds us that there are some things money cannot buy, at least not right away.
Conclusions
In short, the Cheich is like a mirage in the scorching desert: those who see it, are enchanted by it; those who own it, know that they are guarding a rare and unrepeatable fragment of history.
The Cartier Cheich is more than a rare watch. It is a symbol of tenacity, of courage, of extreme elegance fused with sacrifice. It is a love letter written in sand and forged in gold. It is the time that passes between victories. It is the beauty of an object that does not just mark the hours: it tells an epic.
And in that narrative, every curve of the case, every reflection of the metal, every line of the dial reminds us that watchmaking, when linked to a story, to a legend, can become eternity.
Visit our Youtube channel to experience the best of the world of watchmaking firsthand.
For all real-time updates follow us on Instagram.
