Hands-On: The Cartier Tank Américaine In Platinum With A Salmon Art Deco Dial

The months leading up to Watches and Wonders are exciting ones in the Fratello office. Every week, we receive new teasers and press releases. This year, there were also a lot of brand-organized previews. That’s great because the more we know upfront, the better we can inform you, our readers, about these new watches. However, it’s almost impossible to keep track of all the watches released during the week-long show. There are simply too many of them, plus, there are surprise releases like this gorgeous Cartier Tank Américaine in platinum with a salmon pink Art Deco dial.

Tomas just wrote an article on the Must de Cartier Tank Art Deco. That watch came out in 1995 to commemorate the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris. In a way, this new Cartier Tank Américaine in platinum with a salmon Art Deco dial is almost like a 30th-anniversary piece. All right, that might be one year early, and Cartier has done more watches with Art Deco dials in the meantime. So let’s just treat this as a regular release, then, but one that’s certainly not regular in terms of looks.

The Cartier Tank Américaine in platinum with a salmon Art Deco dial

Last year, Cartier introduced an updated version of its stylish Tank Américaine, a watch that originally came out in 1987. The brand did away with the seconds hand, vertically brushed the dial, and changed the dimensions slightly. This new version in platinum is a “large” model. That means the elongated case is 44.4mm long, 24.4mm wide, and only 8.7mm thick. In the shots with the watch on Nacho’s 17.5cm wrist, it looks perfectly in place. The rounded brancards have a mirror-polished finish on top and are brushed on the sides, while the horizontal connections between the brancards are vertically brushed.

The faceted crown on the side is also polished and set with a red ruby, as is typical of Cartier’s platinum watches. With the crown, you operate the new automatic caliber 1899 MC, which came out last year. This fairly new movement allows Cartier to make its watches even thinner than before. Other than that, it’s not a movement with very surprising features. It runs at a 28,800vph frequency and holds a power reserve of 40 hours. However, the thing with Cartier watches is that the movement often isn’t the most important feature. Rather, the design is.

The Art Deco dial holds it together

I like the Tank Américaine’s first dial design with the 12 Roman numerals. It’s a classic Cartier look, and on the new version, it’s cleaner than ever. However, what I don’t love are the wide open spaces around the numerals at 12 and 6 o’clock. On the new Tank Américaine’s Art Deco dial, the railroad minute track moved to the edge of the dial, and the designers took away many of the numerals. The four Roman numerals that are still there are now integrated into an Art Deco-inspired frame with a radially brushed background.

At the center of the dial, there’s a big open rectangle with just the Cartier signature on the upper half. Funnily enough, the open space here doesn’t bother me at all. It has a matte finish, just like the outer edge of the dial, and it’s perfectly held together by the patterns around it. The perfectly blued hour and minute hands hover over the slightly curved dial and add a bit of contrast to the salmon-tone background. Completing the package is a burgundy alligator strap that comes with a white gold rhodium-plated folding clasp.

I’m a fan

Needless to say, I’m a big fan of this Art Deco dial design combined with the Tank Américaine’s elongated shape. One of my favorite buildings in New York City is the mighty Chrysler Building, and this Cartier very much reminds me of that iconic skyscraper. For my wrist, I think I might prefer a medium size. Unfortunately, we’re still not sure that’s an option for the new Tank Américaine. We’ll make sure to let you know when we hear more on that from Cartier.

The new Cartier Tank Américaine in platinum with a salmon Art Deco dial is for sale for €21,300. It’s not on the official Cartier website yet, so if you’d like more information on it, your best bet is to call or stop by your local Cartier dealer.

Let me know in the comments below what you think of this new Cartier Tank Américaine.