Value In Vintage: The Must De Cartier Tank

Cartier is a watch maison synonymous with iconic case shapes. Among them are the Santos, the Tonneau, and the Pasha. The Tank, however, must be the brand’s most famous creation. Within the Tank family, we have so many standalone icons, including the Tank Normale, the Tank Americaine, and the Tank Française.

The Cartier Tank is a watch design that I have been lusting over for more than a year. I even wrote about it while pursuing a vintage Longines watch earlier this year. Although the Cartier Tank Normale remains high on my wish list, I was also appreciative of the more classic Tank Louis case and design. There’s something alluring about the shape and proportions that just seems to speak to me of timeless elegance.

Spending time with a modern Cartier 

My fascination with the Cartier Tank comes despite my fervent interest in the modern Santos. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to spend some time with the automatic medium-sized model. This is a true Cartier sports watch, with a 100m water resistance rating (despite the push-pull crown). In the end, I decided to put that rating to the test and took the Cartier Santos for a free dive in the Pacific Ocean. It worked admirably and wore beautifully on my wrist.

One of the significant risks of taking a watch in the ocean (at least in my part of the world) is the watch catching on a rock or other hard surface. In the rough and tumble of ocean swimming, this can spell real damage to even the hardiest of mechanical watches. Thankfully, the Santos’s slim profile and the way it conformed to my wrist made it a wonderful ocean companion. Handing that watch back to Cartier was, honestly, difficult. I was quite enamored by it. The idea of owning a watch from the brand kept percolating.

Picking up a vintage Tank

Recently, I had the opportunity to pick up a vintage Cartier Tank. Specifically, this is the Must de Cartier Tank Vermeil. Sometimes a watch just seems to find you. I was getting a haircut at my family friend’s hairdressing shop. Among the usual talk of all things work, life, music, and such, we got to watches. You see, my hairdresser used to be somewhat of a watch collector and enthusiast. A devilishly cheeky look entered his eyes as we were talking, and he said, out of the blue, “Would you be interested in a vintage watch my longtime customer is selling?” I asked him what sort of vintage watch it was, thinking it would likely be something like the vintage Seiko chronograph he’d offered to sell me the last time I was in. “It’s a vintage Cartier,” he told me.

That piqued my interest. “I’d love to look at it!” I told him. “Well, it just so happens I have it right here,” he said. He brought out an old red felt box, with the fine gold print of “Cartier” clearly on the top. When I opened the box, I was incredibly surprised to see a stunning Must de Cartier Tank Vermeil. As I took out the watch, its beautiful tricolor sector dial with concentric rectangles flashed in the sunlight. I asked about the price and the watch’s background, and my hairdresser told me the watch had come from an original owner. He’d walked into the Cartier store with his mother on his 21st birthday in 1981 and come out with this watch. After speaking to the owner, finding out about our shared passion for vintage motorcycles, promising to grab coffee sometime, and getting his bank details, the watch was mine.

The Cartier Tank is an icon 

To be frank, I did not know much at all about the Must de Cartier Tank before becoming the proud owner of one. This particular iteration is in the “larger” case size, with a 23mm diameter and 30mm length. This happens to be somewhat of a classic size for Cartier, as it sort of matches the Tank Louis. There is also a smaller vintage version available, which was marketed as a women’s watch at the time. Today, we can still purchase new Tank Must de Cartier models, which come with a variety of dials. I am quite fond of the one in black, reviewed here. The line was recently updated with solar-powered calibers, which is a great development.

But we are here to talk about the vintage Must de Cartier Tank. The watch was introduced in 1976 and cost customers US$500 at the time. It was the brainchild of Alain-Dominique Perrin and Robert Hocq, who wanted to bring new customers to Cartier through more attainable items. These included things besides watches and jewelry, such as wallets and pens. The Must de Cartier Tank was based on the original Tank Louis Cartier and made of gold-plated silver. This is called vermeil. In the industry, vermeil requires at least a 2.5-micron layer of 10K gold. The Must de Cartier watches, however, had a thicker, more durable 20-micron vermeil. Also, because the watch cases are silver, the watches are technically made from a precious metal.

The Must de Cartier Tank is a vintage lover’s dream 

The Must de Cartier line was a big hit for the maison. According to sources, Cartier was making around 3,000 watches each year in the mid-1970s. However, by the end of the decade, the brand was producing as 160,000(!) watches annually. This was partly because the Must de Cartier Tank models came with an exotic range of dial variations. These included classic takes on the Roman numeral dials of the Tank Louis to sector dials, faux-stone dials resembling lapis lazuli or onyx, and lacquered dials. Among the choices were also tricolor dials, like the one that I picked up.

Initially produced with ETA mechanical calibers, they shifted to quartz. In the early to mid-2000s, the production of the Must de Cartier line slowed down and then ceased altogether. In recent years, however, Cartier brought it back in Tank form, as we’ve already covered, but at an elevated price point from the originals.

If you would like to learn more about Cartier watches in general, I encourage you to read this feature by my colleague, the late George Kramer; it is worth your time. However, the fact that these vintage Cartier watches proved so popular makes hunting for a relatively affordable Tank in excellent condition fairly straightforward, all things considered. Many examples of Must de Cartier Tank models are available on the secondary market for less than €2,000, making them quite reasonably priced for such an iconic case shape from a well-known maison.

Concluding thoughts 

In a way, we can see how the Must de Cartier line helped the brand develop its modern identity. Considering the history and design, I’d recommend picking up a Must de Cartier Tank if you’re Cartier-curious but not yet ready to put down serious money for a Tank. As a mechanical-watch enthusiast, I’d encourage readers to focus on acquiring a mechanical version whenever possible. However, the quartz calibers are perfectly fine too!

This isn’t to say the watches don’t have any issues. The gold plating can wear off the cases, which seems to be a common issue resulting from heavy use over time. If properly treated, though, these watch cases will hold up well. Another issue is “spidering” (cracked lacquer) on certain dials. Once again, like the purchase of any vintage watch, it’s worth doing your research and finding an example in the sort of condition you’re after without making compromises. But what do you think, Fratelli? Have you ever owned one of these Must de Cartier Tank watches? If so, what sort of dial did it have? And if not, would you ever consider owning one? I look forward to reading your views in the comments section.