A Cartier Watch Order That Became More Than Just a Fun Idea

A couple of years ago, Yoni Ben-Yehuda, whose extensive watch collection includes a handful of modern and vintage Cartier pieces, decided to create and design a watch with the house as a special order.

His plan was to buy one himself and — independent of his job as head of watches at Material Good, a luxury retailer with locations in New York City, Miami Beach and Dallas — to invite some friends and fellow collectors to buy it, too.

The design included an unusual dial with numerals from alphabets including Arabic, Hebrew and Mandarin — there was even a runic five because, he said, the “lost language is sexy, interesting and visually appealing.” Mr. Ben-Yehuda wanted the range to represent what he described as the bond that a shared love of horology created among people of different cultures.

With that in mind, he called the watch, unofficially, Timepeace, intentionally using the unconventional spelling.

“When I started this process, Timepeace was a cute name that spoke to the reverence that I have for the community,” he said, sitting in his office in Lower Manhattan. “Now, Timepeace feels like it’s embedded with a lot of meaning and the importance of finding common ground.”

“Obviously this watch isn’t going to solve world problems,” he said, “but if it allows just an inkling of a memory of connection between people, then I think that it does way more than I ever could have imagined.”

From afar, the watch simply looks like an extra-large Cartier Santos-Dumont timepiece, with the house’s proprietary 430MC movement. The case is yellow gold with a malachite dial on a deep green alligator strap with a gold ardillon buckle.

Timepeace, which was created in a limited edition of 25 pieces, was ordered through Cartier’s boutique on New Bond Street in London. Mr. Ben-Yehuda has purchased several timepieces there, including a limited-edition Pasha with a green dial and, a few years ago, a Crash, the 1967 design with a distorted oval case that has become a cult favorite.

He admitted that the design — which he mocked up on a computer with the help of Timo Schoones, a tech-savvy friend — was unorthodox. “When I brought that to Cartier, I thought that immediately they’d be like, ‘No, we’re never doing this — it’s so far from our design language,’” he said. “But they were like, ‘This is awesome.’”

About 18 months ago, once all the design elements were determined, Mr. Ben-Yehuda invited a selection of collectors he knows — including Julius Randle, the New York Knicks basketball player; Jimmy Fallon of “The Tonight Show”; and the singer-songwriter John Mayer — to buy one of the watches, at 25,700 British pounds, or $32,530, each.

“It’s something where I know who made it, I know where the idea came from and I have a story that goes with it,” Mr. Fallon said. “I think that’s so much more interesting than just buying a fancy watch.”

“It’s just so unique,” said Brett Hansen, a talent agent in Los Angeles, who also purchased one. “It doesn’t actually look like anything else that Cartier, or any other manufacturer, produces for that matter. That to me is what makes it special: the fact that when I have it on my wrist, there’s no way someone’s not going to say to me, ‘That’s cool. That’s so different. Where did you get that?’”

Timepeace was produced by Cartier’s Paris workshop where two artisans are dedicated to horological special orders. (Some collectors’ groups, as well as individual customers, have placed special orders for Cartier watches in the past.)

Many shoppers who walk into a Cartier boutique for a quartz Tank watch or a Love bracelet might not be aware of the brand’s long tradition of custom orders, but they are “deeply baked in Cartier’s DNA,” said Jack Forster, the author of the 2011 volume “Cartier Time Art” and the global editorial director for The 1916 Company, a watch retailer. “It’s part of what made them what they are as a true luxury brand that really catered to the individual tastes of the individual clients.”

Accepting custom orders “might look different on the watch market,” said Pierre Rainero, the house’s director of image, style and heritage, “but for us, this is something that is natural.”

Still, Cartier doesn’t agree to every request that comes up in a special order. “It has to respect our values in terms of design, so our sense of proportion, our sense of association of colors,” Mr. Rainero said. “There are things we wouldn’t do.”

Actually, any luxury house would have a similar approach to special orders. “Whether it’s a custom piece from Patek Philippe or Vacheron Constantin or Cartier or whoever, the thing is that they want to make sure that, whatever it is, it’s on brand for them,” Mr. Forster said.

Mr. Ben-Yehuda received his watch last month; the other 24 owners were sent theirs early this month. “It feels surreal that the watch is now on my wrist,” he said, calling it “the most special watch that I own.”

As part of his Material Good duties, Mr. Ben-Yehuda teaches the company’s staff about horology and trains many Audemars Piguet employees on the history of watches. But he said that commissioning the Timepeace gave him a fresh perspective on horology.

“This has just completely opened up a new love and adventure and lens for me from which to see timepieces through,” he said. “Now I’m very much focused on design.”