DESIGNER 101
Cartier 101: The Timeless
Allure of the Tank
By Ann B, Jan 11, 2022
The Cartier Tank
is one of the world’s most iconic timepieces.
You can’t miss a Cartier Tank watch with its distinct rectangular case, Roman numerals, and blue hands. Designed by Louis Cartier in 1917, the Tank remains one of the most legendary watches in history. With names like Muhammad Ali, Princess Diana, Angelina Jolie, and Michelle Obama among those who have worn the Tank, need we say more?
The History of the Cartier Tank
Military tanks were synonymous with World War I, so much so, that two years in, in 1917, Louis Cartier designed a watch inspired by the shape the top view of the enormous tanks that went to battle during World War I, in particular, a French one named the Renault FT-17, then a military vehicle that symbolized innovation, mainly for being the first to carry weapons in a fully rotating turret. The following year, in 1918, he gifted the first prototype of The Tank to American general John Pershing. It featured a square case with lines that emulate the Renault FT-17, leather straps, Roman numerals on the dial, and a crown dotted with one blue sapphire.
The Cartier Tank debuted publicly — albeit rather exclusively, considering there were only six — on November 25, 1919. From that day through 1969, less than 6,000 Cartier Tank watches were produced. They all sold within two months of the Tank’s debut. Cartier increased the number of handmade Tanks produced to 20 — an average number at the time — the next year. From then on Cartier produced an average of 104 watches each year. Then Black Tuesday, the great Wall Street crash of 1929, happened and with the Great Depression and economic turmoil around the globe, only 102 Cartier Tanks sold in the five years after Black Tuesday.
Although WWI military tanks were the watch’s main inspiration, a number of movements in culture also featured minimal lines and simple shapes. There was Cubism in Paris, the Bauhaus in Germany, and De Stijl in the Netherlands, which also inspired Cartier.
While new in design, the Cartier Tank carried all the hallmarks of Cartier watches of the time: Roman numerals for the dial, blue steel Breguet hands, deployant buckle, a “railway” style minute track, and a cabochon-cut sapphire on the winding crown. Its movement was designed by the
Cartier responded to the lagging sales by creating new models of the Tank in an attempt to gain more customers. First was the Tank Cintrée (Curved in French), which boasted a curved rectangular face that conformed to the wrist. Next was the Tank LC, a fusion of the original Tank and the Tank Cintrée that featured a rectangular case that wasn’t curved. It would become the version of the Cartier Tank that we all know today. After was the Tank Chinoise, which earned its name from the Chinese temple roofs that inspired the horizontal bars on top of and under the dial. It was also made at a time when Chinoiserie was in vogue in interiors and fashion. The Tank à Guichets (small windows in French) followed, but with two small windows, it was hardly functional since it was difficult to tell the time.
Then World War II happened. The Germans occupied France, cutting Cartier off from its locations in London and New York. After two of the three Cartier brothers — Jacques and Louis — passed away in 1942, leaving Pierre, who returned from New York, where he oversaw Cartier’s branch there, to Paris to attend to the family business. As austerity measures swept France, Cartier was forced to sell off both the New York and London branches. Business would start to pick up in the 1960s, but Pierre would pass away in 1964.
Cartier would make a comeback thanks to two men named Robert — Robert Hocq and Robert Kenmore. Kenmore was the chairman of the
Hocq, meanwhile, made inexpensive butane lighters inspired by Greek columns in France through the cigarette lighting firm he ran called Silver Match. He knew he was on to something, but that he needed a bigger name to carry the elegant lighters. After trying and failing to get a license with Van Cleef & Arpels, he went to Cartier, which approved of the license. The Cartier lighter would be a hot accessory in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
In 1972, Hocq, along with a group of investors, bought Cartier Paris, and then Cartier London, and Cartier New York, reuniting the three branches of the company. Hocq, now president of Cartier, launched the new line Les Must de Cartier, a lower-price diffusion line that offered lighters, sunglasses, scarves made by outside companies. In 1976, Cartier launched the first in-house product of Les Musts de Cartier, the Must de Cartier Tank watch. The French versions were made with silver gilt, a gold-plated sterling silver. Alain Dominique Perrin, Hocq’s sales manager appointed to run Cartier, then emulated Swatch’s success by offering the Tank in an array of sizes, dial colors, and finishes. Licenses were slowly phased out, putting control back with the French jeweler.
Cartier relaunched the Tank in 1973 with the Tank LC and the Tank Normale. Soon, the likes of Andy Warhol and Jackie Kennedy were wearing the Tank LC. Then the Rupert family, who owned Rothman’s International, eventually acquired all shares of Cartier, making it the flagship brand for the newly formed Richemont.
New iterations of the Tank were released. First there was the Tank Americaine in 1989, then in 1996 Cartier released the Tank Française. The next decade saw the Tank Divan in 2002, and finally, the Tank Anglaise in 2012.
Celebrities in the Cartier Tank
Meghan Markle
Courtesy Time
Meghan Markle wears Princess Diana’s Tank Française watch on the cover of Time magazine.
Cartier Tank Sizing
Cartier Tank Divan Automatic Watch Stainless Steel and Alligator 38
Case Size/Width: 32mm
Watch Height: 7mm
Band Width: 24mm
Wrist circumference: 5.75″
Cartier Tank Francaise Quartz Watch Stainless Steel with Mother of Pearl 20
Case Size/Width: 20mm
Watch Height: 6mm
Band Width: 15mm
Wrist circumference: 5.5″
Cartier Tank Solo Quartz Watch Stainless Steel 27
Case Size/Width: 24mm
Watch Height: 6mm
Band Width: 16mm
Wrist circumference: 5.5″
Cartier Tank Solo Quartz Watch Stainless Steel and Leather 27
Case Size/Width: 27mm
Watch Height: 6mm
Band Width: 20mm
Wrist circumference: 6.75″
Cartier Tank Anglaise Quartz Watch Stainless Steel and Rose Gold 23
Case Size/Width: 23mm
Watch Height: 7mm
Band Width: 14mm
Wrist circumference: 6.0″
Cartier Tank Francaise Men’s Automatic Watch Stainless Steel 28
Case Size/Width: 28mm
Watch Height: 8mm
Band Width: 20mm
Wrist circumference: 7.0″
Cartier Limited Edition Tank Francaise Quartz Watch Stainless Steel 20
Case Size/Width: 20mm
Watch Height: 6mm
Band Width: 14mm
Wrist circumference: 7.0″
Cartier Tank Anglaise Automatic Watch Rose Gold and Alligator with Diamonds 30
Case Size/Width: 30mm
Watch Height: 9mm
Band Width: 18mm
Wrist circumference: 9.0″
Cartier Tank Anglaise Automatic Watch Rose Gold 30
Case Size/Width: 30mm
Watch Height: 10mm
Band Width: 19mm
Wrist circumference: 7.0″
Cartier Tank Range
Tank Louis Cartier
The Tank Louis Cartier gets its name from the brand’s founder. It features rounded lugs and a couple of the models have a skeleton case, allowing you to see the movement’s interior.
Tank Solo
The Tank Solo is a modernist’s dream, with both curved and square angles. One of the most affordable models, The Quartz, which does not display the date, was released in 2004, while the Automatic, which debuted in 2012, has a date window.