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Lot 89
Cartier. A fine and rare 18K gold Tank Cintrée wristwatchCase no. 22990 / 27313, ref 4176, case with French guarantee mark, movement by European Watch and Clock Co.,1930's, engraved in cursive script "Damon Runyon / New York American"
Amended
12 June 2012, 13:00 EDT
Los AngelesUS$18,000 - US$22,000
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Cartier. A fine and rare 18K gold Tank Cintrée wristwatch
Case no. 22990 / 27313, ref 4176, case with French guarantee mark, movement by European Watch and Clock Co.,1930's, engraved in cursive script "Damon Runyon / New York American"
18-jewel movement with bimetallic balance, rectangular matte silvered dial with bold roman numerals enclosing minute divisions, blued steel Breguet hands, within an elongated curved case with back secured by four screws through the sides, associated leather strap.
18-jewel movement with bimetallic balance, rectangular matte silvered dial with bold roman numerals enclosing minute divisions, blued steel Breguet hands, within an elongated curved case with back secured by four screws through the sides, associated leather strap.
Footnotes
Introduced in 1921, the Cartier Tank Cintrée was made in a small limited production. It is a wider and elongated version of the original Cartier Tank. The case is slightly curved to match the wearer wrist. This version of the Tank has a cult following of its own and was reintroduced in 1989 as the Tank Americaine.
Damon Runyon (1880-1946) began his career as a sports writer for Hearst newspapers' baseball and boxing columns; however, his true interest laid in the subculture of gambling that happened around sporting events. While Runyon wrote throughout the teens and twenties, it was during the depression that his work gained popularity. His stories about the gangsters, pick pockets, show girls, and rum runners of Broadway's demi-monde attracted readers due to Runyon's innate sense of humor and flair for colorful language. Two of his stories, "The Idyll of Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure," were the basis for the popular musical Guys and Dolls. After his death, Runyon's good friend, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, scattered Runyon's ashes over Times Square from a plane per the author's request, a fitting end for the unique Broadway writer Frank Capra once dubbed, "the creator of the American fairy tale."
A true icon of the New York literary scene, Runyon bequeathed this rare Cartier watch to a close friend and it was passed by descent to its present owner. The watch is inscribed in an imitation of Runyon's handwriting, "Damon Runyon, New York, American."
Saleroom notices
The case is signed European Watch & Clock Co., No. 22990, 26289, 82855. The movement is signed Tempor Watch Co. Geneva, No. 1750 on dial and movement. The movement is stamped twice with the seal of Geneva.