I’ve mentioned before that I’m likely the world’s worst prognosticator. And yet, here I am again – even volunteering this time – to tackle the question of what perfect replica Cartier has in store for us in 2024.
Swiss made fake Cartier might be the most challenging brand to predict because their horological strengths aren’t restricted solely to traditional watchmaking. As a grand jewelry Maison, I’ve seen some of the most incredible gem-setting on everything from Jean Cocteau’s sword for his induction into the Académie Française to “Tutti Fruitti” wristwatches that harken back to the days of cocktail watches (and they should bring those back, by the way). This complicates things for me, an average joe whose feeble gem-less brain can’t fully comprehend the creativity of best 1:1 fake Cartier.
I would have never imagined a Cartier Baignoire Allongée replica for sale with a studded case. A Tiger-striped gem-set Crash? It was too incredible for me to have imagined. A soft cushion-shaped watch that squishes when you press on it? What are we even talking about anymore? Even the Baignoire bangle from last year was, for me, out of left field.
Last year, I was all about the aaa quality fake Cartier Privé collection Tank Normale. It’s the quintessential Normale, and while it knocked my socks off, I sort of knew it was coming, so I kept my mouth shut until the reveal. With no such inside information and barely enough creativity in my pinky finger to predict anything, I’m going to use all that juice – and my gut feelings – to make one prediction.
This is the year of the Swiss movement fake Cartier Maxi Oval.
Since 2015, the Privé collection has been a perfect platform to tease out iconic models like the Cloche, Tonneau, Cintrée, and Crash. The Pebble joined the Cartier lineup in 2022 as one of the few shapes top quality fake Cartier hadn’t revisited since its original release, breaking a 50-year streak. What hasn’t come back is the Maxi Oval.
A brief hedge here to say that this is the 25th Anniversary of the (ahem – putting on my best French accent) Collection Privée Cartier Paris Tortue Monopoussoir, one of the most iconic and beloved high quality fake Cartier watches of the last quarter century. That watch itself played off the fact that the Tortue has been a platform for interesting vintage single-button chronographs in the past and at least two examples of vintage minute repeaters from the 1920s. Looking at how top super clone Cartier has treated their recent releases – liking to iterate with at least skeletonizations and sometimes complications – it’s possible that what we’re due is a resurgence of the Tortue. That’s probably the logical guess. But I’m betting on – or maybe rather hoping for – a Maxi Oval. And while it’s technically a Swiss super clone Cartier Baignoire Allongée, what we haven’t seen since their run that started during the Swingin’ Sixties is a true Maxi Oval.
The Maxi Oval has had the closest thing to a “moment” it’s ever seen. Phillips sold a New York Maxi Oval last year for $120,650, and Christie’s got nearly the same price for one from London. Monaco Legend Group auctioned a London Maxi Oval (the version to have) in the spring of 2023 with an all-in price of €273,000, landing in a prominent best quality fake Cartier collection. A year and a half prior, MLG sold a gray dial, white gold London Maxi Oval for €364,000 – something that now feels like a steal for a unique touch of Jean-Jacques Cartier’s London shaped-watch genius.
Let’s get the apocryphal elephant in the room out of the way: a melted Maxi Oval was not the origin of the top quality fake Cartier Crash. That doesn’t make any difference to me. What our good ol’ buddy JJ Cartier – as I’ve just decided to call him – did best was shaped watches. My apologies to my friends who own them, but watches like the Ceinture do very little in the shadow of the Maxi Oval. Similarly, the cheap fake Cartier Crash is another tier above. What the Cintrée offers, specifically in contrast to the aforementioned, is an uninterrupted history since 1921. But that doesn’t make the Maxi Oval a bad watch.
