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Cartier tank price check.
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Evitzee
·These were $200 fashion watches back in the 80s and 90s, not haute horology. Price is crazy, imo. Zero collectible value.
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padders
··Oooo subtitles!Look closely for plate wear. These are impossible to improve once the plate has failed and you can't polish them either for the same reason. I am less dismissive than Evitzee, if you like it go for it, but the fact remains these are bargain basement Cartiers and the price should reflect that.
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Evitzee
·Look closely for plate wear. These are impossible to improve once the plate has failed and you can't polish them either for the same reason. I am less dismissive than Evitzee, if you like it go for it, but the fact remains these are bargain basement Cartiers and the price should reflect that.
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savka
·I'm not dismissive of these watches in general, they served a purpose for Cartier back in the day, but I think people see the name Cartier today and think of super quality. These aren't. €1,250 is just way too much for a used 'must de Cartier' gold plated quartz watch. €200 or €300, maybe, but not €1,250.
While you are entitled to your opinion, the market does not agree as these sometimes sell for around that price these days. New quartz Tanks in steel are about $2700 USD so these vintage models do appeal to those who like the design but don’t want to shell out ~$3k. Plus, early Must de Cartier Tanks have hand wound mechanical movements for those who care who about that sort of thing.
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watchyouwant
·Cheap Quartz watch.
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Widows Son
·Ouch, some pretty harsh responses here!!! I won't argue the value but...If I were to buy a Cartier Tank, it would be the manual wind solid gold case. It will hold it's value much better and will stand up to just about any other true dress watch. Cary Grant wore one, that says enough for me.
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unxsr
·I'd wear it for sure, but the price seems a little high.
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Donn Chambers
·While you are entitled to your opinion, the market does not agree as these sometimes sell for around that price these days. New quartz Tanks in steel are about $2700 USD so these vintage models do appeal to those who like the design but don’t want to shell out ~$3k. Plus, early Must de Cartier Tanks have hand wound mechanical movements for those who care who about that sort of thing.
The watch market is really crazy if anyone is buying a 70s era Must de Cartier for the price that a real Tank was going for a few years ago. As others have said, these were sold by Cartier as cheap fashion watches in the 70s, and as such used really cheap components relative to the standard Tank. Most Cartier collectors don’t consider them true Cartier watches because of this.
if you want to spend the money on it, have at it. But a modern Cartier quartz Tank is a much better quality watch than these old Must de Cartier watches.
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Dan S
·While you are entitled to your opinion, the market does not agree as these sometimes sell for around that price these days.
There are always going to be some uninformed suckers that see the name Cartier and don’t realize that the brand cheapened itself at one point to sell some junky fashion watches.
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savka
·The watch market is really crazy if anyone is buying a 70s era Must de Cartier for the price that a real Tank was going for a few years ago. As others have said, these were sold by Cartier as cheap fashion watches in the 70s, and as such used really cheap components relative to the standard Tank. Most Cartier collectors don’t consider them true Cartier watches because of this.
if you want to spend the money on it, have at it. But a modern Cartier quartz Tank is a much better quality watch than these old Must de Cartier watches.
Yes, the watch market is really crazy; a "few years ago" might as well be ancient history in the watch world these days, and we all know that's true across many brands. I also agree that just about any modern watch of any brand is better than their vintage counterpart. Would I buy the watch the OP posted? No. However, early Must de Cartier Tanks are powered by ETA mechanical movements. If you want a hand-wound mechanical movement in a Tank today, you'll have to shell out over $10k USD. Sure, modern $10k Tanks are gold as opposed to vermeil and have guilloche dials, but at a tenth of the price of the modern mechanicals, a late 70s ETA-powered Tank represents real value to people who like the design and look of the classic tank and have a preference for mechanical movements (and you get to own a piece of an important moment in Cartier's horological history, which is currently experiencing a resurgence, if you care about that sort of thing).
There are always going to be some uninformed suckers that see the name Cartier and don’t realize that the brand cheapened itself at one point to sell some junky fashion watches.
Ah yes, just like Omega "cheapened itself" this year with the MoonSwatch, right? 😉
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padders
··Oooo subtitles!While you are entitled to your opinion, the market does not agree as these sometimes sell for around that price these days. New quartz Tanks in steel are about $2700 USD so these vintage models do appeal to those who like the design but don’t want to shell out ~$3k. Plus, early Must de Cartier Tanks have hand wound mechanical movements for those who care who about that sort of thing.
Edited:
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savka
·I honestly don't think you can use the prices newer steel or gold models sell for as price data for the original Must range. They really were pretty low rent, including the manual wind versions, which used off the shelf ETA movements with very little decoration if any. If you have examined them in hand like I have your know there is a massive difference. The only thing about them that is remotely interesting is the vermeil silver case but some of the earliest we’re brass so even that is given.
Many “low rent” watches back in the day are still bought and traded today, often at much higher prices than they should (in the eyes of some). Someone on the market for a classic Tank can choose to buy vintage or new, just like with any watch, so I think the comparison from a consumer choice perspective is fair. As for the movement, I suppose I don’t care much about decoration given that there’s no exhibition caseback and I’ll hardly ever see the movement. I also don’t mind an off-the-shelf ETA since they’re proven movements that are easily serviced and still used by many manufacturers today. What we each consider interesting is personal preference, but I find the story, place, and diversity of the Must range a pretty interesting piece of Cartier’s brand history. YMMV, of course.
Should everyone have a must Tank? No. Are all models/examples of equal quality? No. Is it appropriate to dismiss the whole line entirely? Also, no. And since every thread is worthless without pics, here’s a vintage mechanical in vermeil and a modern quartz in steel:
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padders
··Oooo subtitles!Nice. So you can see I have skin in the game and not just talking out of my arse, here is my modern auto tank solo and my similar JLC Reverso Duo:
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