Cartier

My newest acquisition...after months of thinking

Aug 03, 2018,21:04 PM

The Louis Cartier Large, manual winding cal. 8971. Was comparing it with the new two tone Santos medium...and went with this. The Santos is overall a very great watch, the case and bracelet is flawless, the price also very interesting. Sadly, it does not sing to me the way it does in pictures. Particularly the plain white dial with black printed romans appear a bit dull and flat IMHO. I have been eyeing the Large LC since last December, but at that time i still had the Yellow gold tank solo so i did not pay much attention to this. It was really hard to let the Solo go, because I love that watch, especially given the choice, I prefer yellow to rose gold. It does not have any "flaw" except that it is a quartz. Mind you, its not a cheap quartz, its high quality in house Cartier caliber 049 which keeps accurate time and reliable. But still, I always wanted a manual winding Tank... Despite the rather small size by today's standard, the watch fit nicely on my 6.5" wrist. The dial is very beautiful with center guilloche that can make the dial appear two tone, silver and grey, in certain angles and light. The finishing of the case is one step above the Solo, of course the price reflected. My only gripe is the power reserve is rather short, just about 38 hours. And it will be more beautiful if its made in yellow gold. One more thing, the sound of the manual winding is quite loud, and sound "grittier" than my omega , IWC or rolex. Not in a bad way, because the sound is crisp and "raw" , almost like a ratcheting sound of a diver bezel. Very "old school". Thanks for reading.

Well done!

By: sham1 : August 3rd, 2018-22:27

The watch suits your wrist and the photos show off the wonderful guilloche dial. I was excited when this watch was released last year because of its size and the fact that it came manually wound. It is an elegant piece and would be a strong candidate for ...

Thank you very much :)

By: hoseachandra : August 3rd, 2018-22:58

The watch actually wears a bit smaller than in the picture. But still perfectly elegant for a pure dress watch. It stands out in the middle of usual suspect of Rolexes, omegas, panerai, etc with round 36-44 mm diameter. Definitely a strong contender for u...

Agreed!

By: sham1 : August 3rd, 2018-23:19

But I have a small wrist and cannot really get comfortable with larger watches. Besides, I always believe that a dress watch should be under 40mm because there is generally less happening on the dial and it will seem too spartan if it is 40mm and above.

What a gorgeous dial, with he guilloche part in the middle

By: Geo : August 3rd, 2018-23:27

It looks perfect on you, but also on people with bigger wrists. Since I always feel it's nice to see some of the strap too. Cartier did well by releasing the Tank Louis Cartier again, this is such a great classic that one can wear everyday. Enjoy your Lou...