Long time reader and new 'member' with a few (admittedly naive) questions.... There's endless info out there on vintage omegas, UG's, etc but I just started looking into a Cartier Tank for my wife (I understand they're not the most popular in this crowd but its what she likes as a non-watch collector) and there seems to be very little historical reference info available. I'd like to get her a mechanical watch and something with some cool history vs. dumping a significant sum into a new quartz watch which is just an expensive bracelet. I've come across some interesting 60's pieces but having a hard time verifying the exact model, year (or range), authenticity of parts, etc. What they are worth seems like a total black box as well. Can anyone point me in the right direction to nail down some info? Is there a speedmaster101 for Cartier?? Any help is appreciated. Cheers!

 

The Cartier "Tank" has been around for a long time! For information on the "Tank" watch of 2016, there is lots to find out, on line. The Cartier Must Tank is as much a tank as any of them, but it is generally found in a sterling silver case, the ones I am familiar with being gold plated. The Tank is also available in 18-karat gold, and (perhaps) platinum. But that is a guess. At on time, these were available both in mechanical, and Quartz. The topic of the Cartier "Tank" is a big one. So big, in fact, I vey much doubt we could cover the topic on this MB. So be prepared to research the topic, take into account what you are prepared to spend, and talk about it with the lady. Here's a good place to start.

https://monochrome-watches.com/watchtime-wednesday-history-cartier-tank/

 

Vintage Cartier gold plated sterling silver/vermeil,manual winding
You ask about something like that?

 

Not quite. Something like these. I'm told both are 1960's (from the introductory Louis Tank model that began in the 60's) but having a hard time verifying, and wonder whether they used both the print-style font (as in the first example) and the cursive font (as in the second example) concurrently in that era. Any insight is appreciated!

 

Bumping this thread! I too have GF interested in joining collecting with me and vintage Tanks are a great place to start, particularly the late 70s-80's "must de" era, with the gold plated cases and with manual movements.

Have started some research on this, and recently purchased The Cartier Tank book by Franco Cologni, which is ok, but no where near as definitive as Moonwatch Only.

Its a confusing topic, as for a long time Cartier operated as three seperate businesses, all with their own versions of Tank. There were a wide range of different movements, ranging from Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, ETA and Jaguer Le Coultre. The most valuable movements are European Watch and Clock Co which was actually a collaboration set up by Cartier and Le Coultre to make movements for Cartier. There isn't a standard set of caseback markings either, with french tanks often only having a serial number on the back to allow for engraving (eg Jackie Kennedy's Tank Normale).

Probably the only definitive thing to go by is the hallmarks; which were a requirement to add by law, eg 18k gold watches made in France will have a small Eagle's head stamp, silver watches made in Switzerland will have the stamp of a duck.

Gold plated tanks didn't appear unitl the early/mid 70's, first as gold plated brass, then later as gold plated Silver (marked ARGENT) on the back. I reckon both of these are pre "Must De Cartier" gold-plated brass models, probably from sometime between 1973-1976. There's been some mention of Cartier New York releasing gold plated Tanks as part of an American Express promotion, and also that the sales success of brass/gold plated New York Tanks inspired Cartier to go wide with a gold-plated launch once the NY, Paris and London businesses were reunited into Cartier International.

To confuse the issue even more, I own a very early ARGENT 925 silver/gold-plated tank that just has the standard "CARTIER" in capitals on the face like the one above, instead of "Must De Cartier" on it. I had thought it a re-dial until I got Franco's book and read they released them just before they did the burgundy "Must De Cartier" version without tracks and roman numerals.

For a watch that some would say inspired the very notion of the wrist watch, I'm surprised at how under the radar they are with serious collectors. Anyway good luck. There's still a big gap in knowledge on these watches. I really wish there was the same kind of scholarship online for these as there is for Speedys and Subs.