So I was sniffing around the local self-service junkyard, as I am wont to do on a nice weekend day, and I ran across this genuine Cartier clock in a '76 Lincoln Mark IV...

So I extracted the clock from the car's dash, you know, figuring it would be of the finest Cartier quality. Well, no. It's actually standard-issue Detroit stamped metal and plastic. Plastic! Not only that, it's a grinding mechanical faux-solid-state digital clock, similar in execution to a $6.99 Radio Shack clock radio. Thus, regardless of what their imagemeisters do with the brand, Cartier will be forever associated with Malaise Era low-bidder plastic car bling. – Murilee Martin

[Cartier.com]

Related:
Yes! The Pierre Cardin Interior! [internal]

Contact information for this author is not available.