Cartier Tank

Cartier Tank is a collection of rectangular wristwatches from the jewellery house Cartier. Louis Cartier created the Tank in 1917, inspired by the new Renault FT-17 tanks. The side rails of the case — the brancards — extend into the strap attachments, so case and strap read as a single line. The classic dial has Roman numerals, a ‘railway’ minute track and blued sword-shaped hands, and the crown is set with a sapphire or synthetic spinel cabochon; steel watches have spinel.

Over more than a century the Tank has grown into several lines. The Tank Louis Cartier appeared in the 1920s, the Tank Américaine with its elongated case in 1989, and the Tank Française, whose bracelet continues the lines of the case, in 1996. The Tank Solo, with the proportions of the Tank Louis Cartier, arrived in 2004, the Tank MC in 2013, and in 2021 the brand replaced the Solo with the Tank Must, reviving the name of the 1970s Les Must de Cartier line.

The key choice is the case shape: the classic vertical rectangle of the Tank Must, the wrist-curved Tank Américaine, the horizontal Tank Divan, or the Tank Anglaise with its crown set into the side of the case. If a rectangle is not for you, Cartier also offers the square Santos de Cartier, the round Ballon Bleu de Cartier and the oval Baignoire.