Yesterday, Supreme released a preview of its stellar Fall-Winter 2024 collection ahead of the line’s first drop this coming Thursday. Amid a flurry of speculation over Tyler, the Creator’s role with the brand and confusion over its new inedible chopped cheese sandwich, one bit of horological news mostly went unnoticed. On the latest Supreme photo tee, Tyler is sporting a Cartier Pebble—one of his myriad rare watches from the venerable Parisian house. Mr. Creator has become famed over the past few years for his assemblage of horological heat: No less than the wildly popular Crash, the Obus, and the Tank Louis have found their way onto his wrist. But it’s perhaps the Pebble that is most genuinely compelling.
While most shaped Cartiers are at least somewhat based on a rectilinear profile—the Crash being a notable exception—the Pebble is, well, pebble-shaped. Its round, solid-gold case isn’t interrupted by conventional lugs; rather, they’re hidden on the caseback, which maintains the piece’s sleek profile. The dial, meanwhile, is classic Cartier: opaline background, chemin de fer (“railroad”) minute track, Roman numerals, blued steel sword hands. But rather than being displayed via a round crystal, the dial appears beneath a square shape with rounded edges that has been rotated 45 degrees. The overall effect is novel, yet distinctly Cartier—exactly the type of watch that a singer and producer as unique as Tyler, the Creator would want to champion.
Supreme
Cartier
Much like the Crash and the Maxi Oval, the Pebble was a product of Cartier’s London branch. Released in 1972—supposedly in a run of just six pieces—its rarity has fueled its modern-day prices, which routinely hover in the multiple-six figures when one does come to market. In 2022, Cartier threw the collecting world for a loop when it introduced a limited run of 150 new Pebbles in yellow gold in time for the model’s 50th anniversary. Measuring 36mm in diameter like its vintage antecedent—fine, technically that watch measured 35.4mm—the new Pebble is powered by Cartier’s manually-wound Caliber 430MC with 38 hours of power reserve. Upon release, it listed for £40,000, which is roughly $52,111 today.
It appears that this is the Pebble that Tyler added to his collection within the past few years—the first introduced since that legendary run of just six pieces back in 1972. While certain collectors of water-resistant tool watches such as Submariners will proudly wear them as “daily drivers,” unconcerned with the effects of water and sweat, vintage (and modern) Cartier is a distinctly different story. But Tyler isn’t the type to be precious with his precious watches; rather, he famously wears them on stage and, in the mode of Andy Warhol, rarely bothers to set the time. If this is your mode of collecting—a proud embrace of aesthetics and feeling—then boy, do we have just the T-shirt for you.
