Cartier

Cartier just unveiled this at SIHH in January. This is the first mechanical Louis Cartier Tank in several years, before this the only versions available were unfortunately all quartz, including one that had an awful looking date window at 3 o'clock.

Tank LC XL in rose gold

This newest version of the Tank LC is much slimmer than any Tank before, and also much larger. Its dimensions are 40.4 mm by 33 mm, so it is large and very flat; consequently the Tank LC XL makes quite a statement on the wrist, despite its simplicity. Most ultra-thin watches are round, so the Tank LC really stands out.

Tank Anglaise XL with Tank Louis Cartier XL 

Its size might make it a little too large for some wrists though, so hopefully Cartier will introduce a large sized model in the future.

At 5.1 mm high it is the slimmest watch Cartier makes today. It is slimmer than the deployant buckle of the Santos 100, and also thinner than the new Tank Anglaise.

The movement inside is the ultra-thin Piaget cal. 430, a small, 9”’ movement that is just 2.1 mm high.

Though this has vastly different dimensions from earlier Tanks, visually it is practically identical. The dial is white with Roman numerals – Cartier secret signature at “VII” – and blued steel sword hands.

With four screws holding it together, the case construction is also identical to its predecessors. Two case metals are available for the Tank LC XL, rose gold and white gold.

Tank LC XL in white gold with diamonds

For most the Tank LC is the quintessential Tank for several reasons. One is because many of the famous personalities pictured wearing a Tank were wearing a Tank LC, Andy Warhol, Jackie Kennedy, Rudolph Valentino for example.

Another is because the Tank LC shape was used for the Les Must de Cartier Tanks in sterling silver or vermeil. These were made in the seventies and eighties and Cartier sold an unbelievable quantity of them. In fact most of the Cartier watches ever made were Les Must de Cartier timepieces.

Les Must de Cartier Tank, c. 1977

But interestingly the Tank LC is not the first Tank. It was only introduced in 1922, as a more refined version of the original Tank Normale of 1917 which had more angular lines, like an actual tank. The Tank LC had softer lines, characterised by the rounded corners of each of the lugs.

Cartier Tank Normale, c. 1920

Cartier Tank Louis Cartier, c. 1925

The Tank LC is for me the ultimate Cartier formal watch. It is simple, immensely refined, yet distinctive.

- SJX