Cartier is one
of the most important brands in the history of wristwatches. If the Santos was the first Cartier
wristwatch, the Tank is clearly the most iconic Cartier watch. I write
"the Tank" but I should write "the Tank family".
Collecting Cartier Tank watches would be enough for a fulfilled
collector's life. Here is mine and maybe the first of a collection?
The Cartier
Tank Basculante was launched in 1932. I'll say more about 1932 and the
origin below. For the moment let's look at the watch. It may look like a
competitor to the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso launched in 1931. In some way it is.
An inner case pivots (in French we can also say "bascule" hence the
name) inside an outer case, to return itself and protect the dial inside the
"box".
The case of my
modern Tank Basculante is quite similar to a Louis Cartier Tank, at least on
the outside.
It is quite
straight overall and rounded at the corners. It is in fact extremely simple and
sensual.
The general
design and dial is clearly Cartier. It is a simple watch with just hour and
minute hands and a steel case, still it lacks no presence.
About the
origin of the watch, it was created by "Spécialités Horlogères SA"
a branch of distribution of LeCoultre. A patent was asked the 1st of
July 1932. In
fact as you can see below the original Tank Basculante pictured - with a
different case style from the modern version – is similar to the one
shown on the patent file (itself taken from a JLC catalog).
The full patent
drawing below clearly shows the original Tank Basculante. You can see that the
overall design has very lightly changed in nearly 70 years (my watch is already
ten years old). Only the case has been refined underneath and aligned on the
Louis Cartier Tank style.
If the Reverso
has been produced at the time for several brands, it seems that this Basculante
design was reserved for Cartier. The "Cabriolet Reversible" as it
was named at the time was produced in very low quantities until the relaunch in
the late nineties.
It was in fact
made to be part – in its modern life – of the Collection Privée
Cartier Paris, the best modern attempt IMO to put back Cartier in the realm of
high horology. This collection launched in the late nineties and now defunct
reunited some very fine versions of the best classical designs of the Cartier
wristwatch history.
My watch was
not part of this collection as the CPCP was composed only of gold or platinum
case watches. Still it was possibly the closest steel watch to what a CPCP
watch was.
Below is
pictured the platinum and pink gold Basculante. The watch was also offered in
yellow gold.
The most
appealing quality aspect of my Basculante is that it was fitted with the same
calibre as the CPCP versions. It is a Frederic Piguet 6.10, a very thin
(2.10mm) and small (15.3mm diameter) calibre of real high horology class. This
small piece of horology is still quite precise after ten years of use!
I've
always loved plain and engraved backs. They have a definitive charm and
elegance. And to read "mécanique" on a Cartier back is a promise of
style.
The inside of
the « box » is decorated with the Cartier pattern.
Here is below
the small calibre and its Cartier pattern as bridge decoration. My watch was
equipped with a sapphire back on a steel watch as part of a limited production
made for the French market for a year. Normal watches were made with a plain
back aimed at receiving engravings. Some gold watches were even enamelled on
the back side.
What could I
say ? This watch is a simple and thin Tank. It exudes quality everywhere
you look at it. It is original and very classy IMO but still elegant and
discreet. It is a steel and very affordable Cartier but for me a real piece of
high horology. It is what a Tank should be: a watch of style but a watch that
you want to keep forever!
I hope to see
Cartier come back to such fine pieces. They make some nice watches but they
don't seem to keep making such fine pieces. For me a Cartier watch is a
watch a king could wear. I'm not sure all current models could answer that
request with a king of taste!
Best
Dje