PREVIEW: JEWELLERY, WATCHES, SILVER & OBJECTS OF VERTU: 12 MARCH

Pierre Cardin, the Italian-born, French fashion designer (1922-2020) was known for his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He founded his fashion house in 1950 and focused on geometric shapes and motifs.

While his experimental designs were not always practical, they were unerringly eye-catching and alternative, as his celebrated collarless suits for the Beatles, designed in 1963, demonstrate.

Cardin’s interest in Space exploration extended to designing the Nasa spacesuits in 1970, and also led him to launch his Espace collection of wristwatches in 1971. These were inspired not just by the Apollo programme, but also by Hollywood’s contemporary interest in Space and science fiction, expressed through films such as Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and Jane Fonda’s Barbarella, both released in 1968.

Pierre Cardin himself is quoted as saying “The infinity of space is more inspiring than anything else.”

The Espace collection included 26 models, incorporating manual winding movements from Jaeger and housed in futuristic cases manufactured using distinctive ’70’s materials.

A private collection of 11 Cardin-designed watches from the Espace Collection in this auction reflects the designer’s passion for exploration beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

Cardin uses acrylic, bold colours, stainless steel and geometric shapes to striking effect across the collection. All dating to c.1971, with manual winding and 17 jewels, estimates range from a high of £300-500 to £100-200 apiece.

Two at the top end of hopes include a stainless steel and acrylic diver’s rectangular wristwatch, PC111, and a stainless steel and acrylic curved rectangular wristwatch, PC106. The first has a dial sporting silvered, baton indexes, the second with blue and white baton indexes. Each comes with its presentation plastic tube.

A stainless steel and blue acrylic asymmetric wristwatch, PC112, with silvered, dot indexes to the dial, is expected to fetch £200-300.

The remaining eight watches in the collection are each pitched at £100-200.