Cartier

SJX
[Purist]
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A look at the Tank Anglaise

Cartier’s major new product line for 2012 is the Tank Anglaise. Reactions to this have been mixed, because of its dramatically different proportions from earlier Tank watches.

Visually this retains all the traditional Tank design cues, starting with the integrated bracelet. Remember that the first 1917 Tank was arguably the first wristwatch in the world with the integrated leather band.

The Anglaise is not yet available on a leather strap, but certainly will be, as seen on CEO Bernard Fornas’ wrist earlier this year.

The dial has all the traditional Cartier design cues like blue sword hands and the railway minute track. Nothing has been changed with this simple but successful formula. The dial, however, has a subtle detail – the hour and minute tracks are slightly raised above the guilloche portion, which gives it a slightly more modern feel.

“Fortified” is how Cartier describes the design of the Tank Anglaise. It is certainly the heftiest Tank watch available now. The large model measures 36.2 mm by 47 mm, which makes it a similar size to the extra-large tonneau or rectangular watches from brands like Franck Muller and Jaeger-LeCoultre. It certainly fills a gap in the product range; previously Cartier lacked a chunky rectangular watch as the other Tank models are mostly slim.

The parallel brancards of the case are wide and rounded. Cartier has integrated the crown into the case, so the sides of the case are streamlined.

Requiring a bit of explanation is the crown. Inspired by the wheel of a Tank, the crown is a kind of double crown. The centre portion with the sapphire cabochon can be pulled out to set the time and date, but larger, outer crown can wind the watch.

Because the crown is integrated into the case, winding is not particularly convenient. This is the only functional shortcoming of the watch in my opinion.

Mechanically the Tank Anglaise large model is respectable. It uses the in-house 1904 MC automatic movement first seen in the Calibre de Cartier. The movement is a solid, workhorse type so it is perfectly suited for a watch like the Tank Anglaise which is obviously created as a volume seller, as opposed to niche, high priced timepiece like the Santos Skeleton for instance.

The name is derived from Cartier’s historic boutique in London opened in 1902. Two earlier Tank collections, the Tank Francaise of 1996 and the earlier Tank Americaine of 1989 are named after the Paris and New York boutiques. The three stores are the maison’s landmark boutiques, with each originally run by one of the Cartier brothers.

Tank Americaine tourbillon 

The Tank Americaine was an evolution of the Tank Cintree so it still looks very traditional. On the other hand the Tank Francaise was modern with its angular lines, but it has gone on to become a bestseller, especially as a ladies watch.

So the final question, Tank Anglaise: yea or nay?

- SJX