Auction The Cartier’s Portico Mystery Clock No. 3

For more than two centuries, Phillips has built a long-standing legacy as one of the world’s most prestigious auction houses, known for its specialized focus on art, design, jewelry, and, notably, watches. Today, Phillips is recognized as one of the most viewed and well-known auction platforms on the planet. In 2024, Phillips continued to reinforce its dominance in the watch auction world, offering 1,790 lots across 12 auctions, eight live and four online. With an annual total of USD 212.3 million in watch sales, Phillips has surpassed USD 200 million in annual auction totals for four consecutive years, an achievement no other auction house has matched.

Phillips will begin this year with the Geneva Watch Auction: XXI, set to take place on 10 and 11 May 2025. One of the main highlights is the Cartier Portico Mystery Clock, part of a genre of timepieces so inventive that even Cartier’s own salespeople struggled to explain their inner workings when they were first introduced.

The Mystery Clock was Cartier's stage for unbridled artistic expression, blending high jewelry craftsmanship with ingenious mechanical illusion. Inspired by the work of 19th-century illusionist and clockmaker Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, and this one series stands at the pinnacle, the Portico Mystery Clocks, crafted between 1923 and 1925, representing the most prestigious and complex achievements of Cartier’s horological art.

Created in collaboration with Maurice Coüet, the six Portico clocks reflected Cartier’s deep fascination with Asian art, a passion sparked by Louis Cartier’s vision and designer Charles Jacqueau’s Far Eastern inspirations. Suspended like a gong between temple-like columns, the Portico clocks merged Oriental architectural elements with intricate mechanical artistry. Unlike traditional Mystery Clocks, where the movement is hidden in the base, Portico clocks housed their movements above the dial.

Each Portico clock was a bespoke creation, adorned with exotic materials such as rock crystal, onyx, jadeite, rose quartz, and diamonds. The clocks were famously exhibited at the 1925 Paris Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels and praised as "marvels of the clockmaker’s art", otherworldly objects that seemed spun from moonlight itself.

This particular clock is arguably the most opulent and important of the series. Its frame is constructed from two square columns of rose quartz, a rare departure from the rock crystal columns of other Portico clocks. Black enamel and oriental-inspired lattice motifs decorate the base of the columns, while symbolic "Fo" lions, guardians of structure and soul, stand sentry on either side. Above the columns, the arch is embellished with black onyx, rock crystal, and enamel, centered by a diamond-paved Chinese character “Shou” (寿), symbolizing longevity.

The suspended twelve-sided rock crystal dial is a masterpiece in itself. Floating in the center are pavé-set rose-cut diamond hands shaped like a dragon, an imperial symbol of fortune, power, and prosperity in Chinese culture. The outer bezel of the dial features mother-of-pearl inlay, highlighted with onyx and diamond-set Roman numerals, and bordered by twelve seed pearls. Black enamel accents frame the entire composition, enhancing the ethereal interplay of light, shadow, and texture.

It is powered by a manually wound caliber by European Watch & Clock Co. The clock’s personalized presentation box and matching key, both numbered to correspond with the clock’s movement, are rare surviving artifacts that accompany it. The Portico clocks were not mass-produced, only six were ever created. The Portico Mystery Clock No. 3 has an estimated price of CHF 2,000,000, approximately AED 8,900,900, when it heads to auction.

For more information, visit the official website of Phillips Auctions.