The perfect replica Cartier Crash has been the world’s hottest watch for the last few years now. It kicked off 2022 with a million-dollar-plus auction and kept showing up on Tyler, the Creator (and many other celebrities).
Now, the luxury fake Cartier Pebble seems to be following in the shape-shifting Crash’s footsteps. The Pebble (or “Baseball”) has, like the Crash, vastly exceeded expectations at auction over the past couple of years. As far back as the summer of 2021, different versions of the Pebble have brought in $250,000, $290,000, and $405,000, blowing way past their presale estimates. Swiss movement copy Cartier claims only six pieces of the watch were originally produced (which makes it odd to see so many trading hands in a relatively short period of time). Luckily, the brand quietly reissued 150 more Pebbles last year.
Tyler, the Creator was, meanwhile, one of the lucky collectors to get a 1:1 replica Cartier Pebble. Over the past couple of years, Tyler has become a prolific Cartier collector, popping up at an auction house’s dedicated AAA super clone Cartier sale in Monaco and on John Goldberger’s Instagram account. “I based a lot of my watch taste just off of how light it feels and how it could be colorful, too,” he told Robb Report last year. “I’ve seen some Rolexes, vintage ones, I really like, but aside from that, I’m just OK with the high quality replica Cartiers. They bring me joy.”