A small insight to the workings of Cartier circus managers
When I started this thread on 18th Feb 2012, I did mention I am unlikely to be a part of it.
Subsequently, around middle of June 2012, there was a “Press Release from Cartier”, in which it was stated “…………….Therefore, a new entry procedure has been put in place for
all future Cartier Concours d’Elegances in India. If you would like to participate in the next Cartier
‘Travel With Style’ Concours, could you kindly mail full details of your vehicle/s with recent photographs to -
concoursindia@gmail.com. These details will then be
forwarded to London for final selection which will be made by our highly experienced panel of automotive judges headed by the Chief Judge H.R.H. Prince Michael of Kent and Cartier’s Curator Manvendra Singh of Barwani.
I really believed that there is a new procedure in place, and hence submitted my application for my Dodge Custom Royal.
This I did after speaking to a few friends, some of whom commented that this "new" procedure may have been put in place after my comments on the second Cartier event on t-bhp.
Please see
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/vintag...11-a.html page 3 post 32 onwards. If one has the time, please read all the posts and have fun. Then compare this with the 2013 event and many things become more clear.
I may never know if they really met in London and how many times, but I know for sure that some of the cars present and participating had not even applied. In some cases it was understood that selected cars are entered, in other cases the owners were surprised to be invited without an application. So much for the “new” entry procedure. I believe that the committee must have met again in December in London just to invite a certain 1955 Dodge.
The strange part is that the Dodge owner did not apply, yet he was asked for a convertible and when informed that it was not made in India, they asked for his saloon which was also not assembled in India(don’t tell the curator). Yet they persisted with this entry as the “highly experienced panel of automotive judges headed by the Chief Judge H.R.H. Prince Michael of Kent and Cartier’s Curator Manvendra Singh of Barwani” thought fit. The joke is that this car was eventually listed as a convertible, the panel could not tell the difference. And the owner has much better cars which would have spoilt many pre-selected winners.
On 20.11.2012, I received a mail from Mark Shand, which contained also the following lines
.......]As you may be aware there are a limited number of entries for each event and,
sadly, it is not possible to accommodate everyone. We
regret very much not being able to accept your vehicle on this occasion but will certainly
keep it in mind for the next event. We hope very much for
your continued interest and support of the Cartier ‘Travel with Style’ Concours d’Elegance and
your future participation.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Shand
Director– Cartier ‘Travel
I did the hi-lighting to emphasize that these jokers do not mean what they say and write. They were sad, they will keep me in mind, hope for my continued interest and support, hope for my future participation, and then go ahead and snub me by not giving me an invite to visit, even when a common friend asked them. So many people not invited did go in, I deliberately chose to keep away.
I would only say that Cartier could consider to keep their event in French hands and take it away from that Englishman and the Indian prince, the French certainly understand hospitality much better. In the first Cartier event the invites were from Bernard Fornas, President and CEO of Cartier International, this time it was Mark Shand, Director, who eulogized the curator (praise highly in speech or writing), calling him “our curator HH Rana Singh Barwani, India’s most respected and experienced vintage car expert".
There were many cars which should not have been there, and many which should have been. I won't go in there as many from both sides are my friends.
I think this will show a little insight of the politics going on there, it has created lot of disillusionment in the collector car world, many wins are hollow, scores were trying to be settled, all at the cost of Cartier whose show was likened to a poor joke of a circus. Why does Cartier allow this?
Cheers harit