209 - CARTIER

CARTIER “La Doña” wristwatch in 18K white gold (750/1000) Trapezoidal case in 18K white gold (750/1000), bezel set with diamond fragments Trapezoidal dial with a gray background, Roman numerals for the hours, railway-track minute markers, signed; lance-shaped hands Screw-down caseback in 18K white gold (750/1000), signed and numbered “118760MX 2905” Quartz movement Flexible 18K white gold (750/1000) bracelet, double folding clasp in 18K white gold (750/1000), signed Gross weight: 134.90 g. Dial dimensions: 18 x 18 mm (at widest point) Wrist circumference: 17 cm. (Shows signs of wear; not currently functioning; service is recommended) The condition report is available upon request at the following email address: contact@neo-encheres.com Note: The Dona de Cartier owes its name to María Félix (1914–2002), a legendary Mexican film star nicknamed “La Doña” after her role as Doña Bárbara, who also starred in European films directed by Jean Renoir and Luis Buñuel. A loyal client of the Cartier boutique on Rue de la Paix, she commissioned some of the most spectacular pieces of 20th-century jewelry there: the Serpent necklace in 1968, crafted in platinum and gold and set with over 2,400 diamonds, and then, in 1975, the Crocodiles necklace—two articulated gold reptiles, one paved with emeralds and the other with yellow diamonds—which, according to legend, were modeled after her own crocodiles, which she brought alive to the boutique. Both of these creations are now part of the Cartier Collection. In tribute to this extraordinary client, Cartier introduced the La Dona watch in the mid-2000s—one of the few timepieces from the house to bear a woman’s name. Its trapezoidal, asymmetrical case evokes the profile of a crocodile’s head, while the rounded links of the bracelet recall the reptile’s scales. La Dona thus takes its place in Cartier’s gallery of watch designs, alongside the Santos, the Tank, the Tortue, the Pasha, and the Panthère, and within the tradition of Parisian jewelry watches, much like the Cadenas by Van Cleef & Arpels (1935). Rarer on the market than classic models, this piece is presented here in white gold, with a diamond-paved bezel.