Guide: Cartier Tank – A study in style.

By: Aleksandar Mladenovic

In our previous article about Cartier here at Eqotime we looked a little closer at the history behind the Cartier Santos. Seen by many as the forefather of wristwatches. But Cartier is so much more than the Santos and today we dive deeper down into the history around another icon. It is time to present a a guide to Cartier's Tank model.

Cartier Tank saw the light of day for the first time in 1917, in the middle of a raging world war. And as the name hints at, the design is a tribute to the Renault FT-17, a French armoured vehicle. Something that may perhaps seem a little funny. That one of the watch world's most elegant watches is inspired by a brutal war machine.

Aptly enough the first prototype also became a gift to the American general John Pershing and it was not until a couple of years later during the early 1920s that the watch became more available to the general public.

The production of the Cartier Tank resulted in several different model variants and I thought that here we shall take a look at some of them.

I don’t wear a (Cartier) Tank watch to tell the time. In fact, I never wind it. I wear a Tank because it’s the watch to wear.

Andy Warhol

Tank Normale – the mother of all Tanks

Like the Santos, the Tank has quite a lot of classic Cartier DNA. The most striking are the Roman numeral indexes, the blued hands and the blue sapphire cabochon. What is special about the first Tank however is that it is almost completely square. Unlike its rectangular successors and the leather strap looks more or less completely integrated into the case. The first edition was manufactured in only 6 examples. After that a number of variants on the model have been produced with different movements, both manual and quartz – though none new since the 80s.

Tank Cintree – Art Deco

In 1921 the first variant of the Tank was introduced. It was given the name Cintrée which means curved in French and the reason becomes crystal clear when you see the watch. Unlike the Normale, the Cintrée is elongated and curved so as to almost hug the wearer's wrist.

Here Cartier also began to experiment with the numeral indexes which had always been Roman and they used among other things Arabic indexes. The Cintrée has been manufactured in slightly different sizes over the years and at its introduction it must have been a bit of the era's equivalent to modern monster watches like the 48mm Panerai and other gigantic things.

From a collector's perspective the Cintrée is one of the model series that is most sought after among collectors. It has also been worn by a range of celebrities where one of the coolest must be Fred Astaire.

Tank Louis Cartier – the most recognised

Shortly after the Cintrée was introduced the model that most people relate to when you mention Cartier Tank was released in the form of the Louis Cartier series. Unlike the Normale, the Tank Louis Cartier, or Tank LC as it is abbreviated, is rectangular in shape and with slightly softer case sides.

The Tank LC is found in a multitude of different variants in different sizes with different types of movements, from quartz to automatic. This model too has appealed to famous wearers where the most noteworthy ought to be Muhammad Ali, Andy Warhol and Clark Gable.

Tank A Guichets – a personal favourite

Tank a Guichets is a so-called jump hour in Tank format. This is one of my personal favourites and I think that it is one of the toughest Tanks that have been produced. It was introduced during the end of the 1920s and Duke Ellington was a famous wearer.  The model is a bit of a hidden one within the Tank family but got new life when it, in 1996, was released as a very limited edition of only three examples in rose gold and three in platinum. The year after it was released in two versions in the same material to celebrate the 150-year anniversary but then in 150 examples each.

Tank Basculante – the sports watch of the era

The Basculante was introduced during a time period when it was fashionable to actually do sports with your watch. It saw the light of day for the first time shortly after Jaeger-LeCoultre had introduced its sports watch the Reverso in the 1930s. And the function was the same, a case that could be turned to protect crystal and dial from damage. This model has lived rather long in the shadows but got a boost around the turn of the millennium when it was relaunched. In later years it has also grown in popularity within the Swedish watch sphere.

Tank Asymetrique – the car watch of car watches?

In 1936 another interesting model was introduced. Unlike its predecessors the Tank Asymetrique was exactly as the name hints at – asymmetrical. This in order to make it easier for a car driver to read off the time while keeping the hand on the wheel.

Must de Cartier – commercial success

At the beginning of the 1970s Cartier went through quite a lot of changes. Among them a change of ownership where they went from a family owned business to new owners in the form of a bunch of pure investors. During the end of the 1970s they chose to introduce the “Must de Cartier” line. With this they wanted Cartier to be available to everyone and not just celebrities and other wealthy people.

The result became quite a lot of different models where among others the Tank was one. Instead of cases in precous metal they chose to plate the cases with gold and to this they offered a range of different colourful dials. This was during the so-called quartz crisis and consequently they also started to use battery driven movements in the watches.

From a brand perspective this was a total catastrophe. Cartier, which over decades had built up a strong brand where they had only used cases in precious metal and often with super thin manual movements of the utmost quality, now used cheap quartz movements and gold pltaed cases. Commercially it became on the other hand a success without its like. People bought several at once. Everyone had to have one.

Tank Americaine, Francaise, Anglaise and Solo – the modern Tanks

During the end of the 80s the Tank Americaine was launched. A modern version inspired by the Cintrée. In 1996 the Tank Francaise was released which was a slightly sportier Tank that also came on a bracelet. A novelty as the Tank had previously only been offered on different types of leather straps. The all gold version is seen among other places on the character Christopher Moltisanti in the cult series Sopranos.

The Tank Solo which was introduced in 2004 is one of the models that is still manufactured. It comes in slightly different sizes and versions and is really something of a more modern take on the Tank LC.

The Tank Anglaise is a bulkier version of the Tank that was released in 2012 during a period that I personally consider to be one of the weakest in the brand's history. Especially from a design perspective. On the other hand during this period they made a substantial investment from a horological perspective and have produced masses of fantastic and complicated movements.

2020 – the Asymetrique makes a comeback

In later years Cartier has begun to relaunch historical models in a new take. Models like the Cintrèe and the Tonneau have come back into the range in a range of different variants,

New for this year is the comeback of the Tank Asymetrique.The standard model comes in three different versions: rose gold, yellow gold and platinum and is limited to 100 of each model. It also comes in a skeletonised version in rose gold and two versions of platinum with and without stones. These too are limited to 100 pcs of each 

An icon now and then?

Cartier's Tank is undeniably one of the watch industry's biggest icons. It is the single biggest model series that Cartier has manufactured and most of the models suit both gentlemen and ladies of all ages.

Because surely it is a bit like Andy Warhol said about the model; I don’t wear a (Cartier) Tank watch to tell the time. In fact, I never wind it. I wear a Tank because it’s the watch to wear.