A Classic Cartier Tank

The Cartier Tank is one of the most recognizable watch designs ever made, but what most people do not know is that it is also one of the rarest.

The purpose of this article is to just give you a little glimpse of the Cartier Tank because the truth is that this model is a complete world by itself.

Why a so delicate look design watch is call Tank?

Louis Cartier designed the original Tank in the year 1917, as a gift for General John Pershing of the American Expeditionary Force.
Louis Cartier inspiration was the Renault tanks that he saw on the Western Front. It was a novel creation because unlike most timepieces of the day, it managed to seamlessly integrate the lugs into the vertical brancards of the casing. It was an instant classic due to its hard edges, crisp lines and clean aesthetic appeal.

The types and common characteristics

Many types of tank design have been created: the Tank Anglaise (2012), the Tank Solo (2004), the Tank Française (1986), the Tank Américaine (1989), the Tank Louis Cartier (1922), the Tank MC (1904).
But they have common characteristics:

• A Chemin de Fer chapter ring.
• A square and rectangular shape.
• Bold dials with Roman numerals.
• A distinctly beautiful sapphire cabochon surmounted crown.
• Blue steel hands shaped like swords.
• Remarkably, with an astounding 45-models presently available in its six current collections, Cartier has managed to make all of them uniquely attractive and yet easily identifiable to even the untrained eye.

The Two Movements

Top Differences between These Two Types of Movements in the Cartier Tank:

QUARTZ MOVEMENT: a quartz watch uses a quartz movement which is powered by a watch battery and a quartz crystal. The battery sends an electric current to the quartz crystal which then creates a vibration or as watchmakers call it; an oscillation. Quartz is a high-frequency crystal and it resonates at 32,768 revolutions per second giving higher
accuracy.

AUTOMATIC MOVEMENT: an automatic movement, on the other hand, is purely mechanical and is powered by the tension of a tightly wound spring. An automatic timepiece (also called a self-winding watch) is wound up when first used, usually via the winding crown and then is “recharged” via a rotor using your movement as you wear it.

These are the big differences in terms of the internal organs of the watches and as you can see they are quite different on the inside. Many watch lovers prefer a mechanically powered-watch such as an automatic/self-winding watch since it has fascinating micro-mechanics that provide an esoteric value to the watch. They can often look through the transparent case back on many watches and marvel at the mechanics all moving together. It’s actually one of the reasons many people start collecting watches in the first place.

We invite you to invest more time in discover this beautiful Iconic Design!!