Greeting fellow watch aficionados!

I'm new to this forum and new in the wristwatch world.

Though I've did some research on the subject, I'm here to seek your advice on one of my greatest purchase of my life.

I'm currently pretty seduced by the style of the new Tank Anglaise watch. I was looking for a rectangle/square-style case watch when I tumbled upon the Cartier Tank collection. Since I'm looking for a fashion watch rather than a dress watch, the Tank collection pretty quickly caught my eye. I love watches with a gold case and a gold bracelet. Sorry if it seems cliché, but that's how I feel toward fashion watches. Classic dress watches just do not suit up for a 28 years old boy.

I think the Tank Américaine is too much slender, Tank Française looks too much feminine but the new Tank Anglaise is bulky, looks masculine and has its crown integrated into the brancard which is very nice looking actually.

So I really enjoy the style of the Tank Anglaise. HOWEVER, I'm very disappointed by the fact that the medium sized one (the size that fits me best for I'm rather slender built) uses a ETA 2671 movement (Cartier Calibre 077). For a 31,000$ watch I would have expected much much more. There's about 5,000$ worth of gold in it (current gold price), the AD makes about 11 to 12,000$ margin on the sale. So I basically pay 14,000$ just for the Cartier name and the style. And I'm not mentionning a 15% sale tax on it (I live in Montreal, Canada). Of course few months ago, I didn't know about ETA movements and all that stuff. I would have been pretty much happy of having a nice looking Cartier on my wrist. The more I learn the more disappointed I get towards the watch industry.

There's another option though, going for the Tank Anglaise large model. This one uses the in-house manufactured 1904 PS-MC Cartier movement. Nothing special about that movement (28,800 vph, twin barrels, standard swiss escapment lever, ceramic bearings for the rotor, côtes de Genève on both bridges and rotor) but it's nonetheless an in-house movement. The model, MRSP of 38,900$, is quite large and don't fit as good as the medium one on my wirst (my wrists are 6,5 inches circumference). I prefer the medium size but prefer having an in-house movement.

Also, a luxury watch brand that uses quartz movements in its other models bugs me a little. Not that I have something against QZ movements, I just think they do not belong in a luxury niche. Of course, I'd go for a flying tourbillon grand complication hand built watch, I just don't have hundreds of thousand dollars for a watch.

Should I keep my money, go for another brand, go for the medium size and cursing at Cartier for the ETA movement. Does having an in-house movement be that important? Should you buy a watch you enjoy or buy a watch that impresses watch connoisseurs? I hate being ripped off and I expect to get the best for what I pay.

Thank you very much for your advice. Please take into consideration that I'm about to spend (let's face it, you don't really invest on a fashion luxury watch) 36,000 to 45,000$ on a single watch. And for those asking how did I get my hand on so much money ; I've been saving it for something special for the past 9 years.

 

Don't mention Cartier to Ash....

 

Well, I think the problem with looking for a fashion watch is that the look of the watch will always come first, and the movement second. That's always been my issue with Cartier, they're a lot of money for not a lot of watch for the most part. The JLC is an icon in its own right, they make some of the best movements in the business, and with the kind of money you have to play with, you can get a really high specced version. Different league to the Cartier

 

Welcome to the forum! I am new here as well, only signed up yesterday.

While I don't know a lot about watch movements, I can understand your point about wanting an inhouse movement for the price you are paying.

I have learned that there are different grades of ETA movements. The ones that Cartier uses are apparently among the highest grades. I know two people who owned Cartier watches with ETA movements, and are very satisfied with the accuracy. Having said that, neither of them spent nearly the amount of money you are going to spend. Personally, for a gold watch I would prefer a smaller size. The Tank Anglaise, to me, is just too large. That inhouse movement is fantastic, though.

It sounds like you are set on getting a gold watch with a gold bracelet as well. The JLC Reverso is a great watch, but I am not sure if you can get it with a gold bracelet. Certainly, the movement is fantastic.

Since you are in the price range, have you looked at the Patek Philippe models?

Omega has a number of beautiful models with gold bracelets, but then you would be getting away from the Tank style.

Well, make sure you look at all the options. If you are set on the Tank Anglaise, it would be difficult to find a Tank watch with that bold of a style, and a gold bracelet as well. While I understand your concerns about the inhouse movement, I would not let the fact that it has an ETA movment deter me. A watch with a quality ETA movement should give you years of depedable service. Cartier does seem to be developing a lot of their own movements. I imagine that eventually they will develop one that fits their smaller models as well.

Last but not least, there is an excellent forum called Revo-Online that I have been frequenting because of my interest in Cartier watches. The moderator has in incredible knowledge of Cartier watches, and you can get lots of advice and opinions on the models and various movements. It is a great place to spend time and learn about Cartier watches:
http://revo-online.com/forums/main/cartier.html

Lots of the fun is in the hunt, so most of all: Enjoy yourself!

Cheers,
Carl