Zidane’s personally worn Cartier Pasha will join the Watches for ELA charity section of Christie’s November Rare Watches auction in Geneva.
A Cartier Pasha bought by Zinedine Zidane at the beginning of his professional football career will be offered by Christie’s in Geneva on November 9, with proceeds supporting ELA International and families affected by leukodystrophies.
A watch tied to the beginning of a career
Zidane has described the stainless-steel Cartier as the first watch he bought for himself, purchased from his first salary while playing for Bordeaux. That personal connection gives the piece a type of provenance that cannot be recreated by rarity or specification alone.
He wore the watch for years before deciding to part with it for the charity sale. In a collecting market where celebrity ownership can sometimes feel manufactured, the long relationship between owner and object gives this particular watch a more credible story.
The Pasha’s recognisable design
The watch carries the signatures associated with Cartier’s Pasha line, including its strong case design, bracelet and sapphire cabochon details. Those features made the model distinctive in an era when many luxury sports watches followed more conservative visual conventions.
Its significance in the sale comes less from technical complication than from the way design and biography meet. A familiar Cartier becomes a record of one athlete’s early success and the object he chose to mark it.
Watches for ELA returns
The Rare Watches auction will also include the second edition of Watches for ELA, bringing together around twenty timepieces donated by established and independent watchmakers. Proceeds from the charitable section are intended to support ELA International’s work with families affected by leukodystrophies.
Zidane has supported ELA for more than 25 years, which gives the donation continuity beyond a one-off fundraising gesture. Christie’s will exhibit the watches internationally before the collection returns to Geneva ahead of the sale.
When provenance becomes the value
Collectors increasingly pay attention to the human histories attached to important watches, particularly when ownership can be documented over many years. A watch worn through a meaningful period of a public figure’s life can carry a cultural value separate from model rarity or condition.
In this case, the charitable purpose adds another chapter rather than ending the story at the auction block. The buyer will acquire a recognisable Cartier with sporting provenance, while the transaction converts that history into direct support for a long-standing cause.
Official sources: press.christies.com.
Source
Christie’s