The sobriety, elegance and parity of its lines, make it a point of reference: a Cartier classic. The Tank was designed in 1917 by Louis Cartier as a tribute to the allied Renault tanks crews that Cartier saw in use on the Western Front and the prototype watch was presented by him to General John Pershing, United States Expeditionary Force. Its lines and proportions are similar to the tanks found on First World War battlefields. It is a square and a rectangle at the same time with (usually) blue sword shaped hands and opaline guilloche dials. Tank’s winding crowns have sapphire cabochons. Most of the models can be found embellished with diamonds. The Tank has several versions, now over thirty variants, in both automatic and quartz movement and continues to hold an almost mythical fascination.

Since 1847, 160 years filled with creation and emotions have rolled by. The history of Cartier watchmaking is a fabulous heritage which each one of us must keep alive with passion.
Louis-Froncois Cartier was initiated into the craft of the jeweller by his father and jewellery became his main area of expertise. Attracted to Paris by the 1867 Universal Exhibition, the patronage of Princesse Mathilde, a first cousin of Napoleón III, gave Louis-Francoise Cartier a prestigious clientele. The international aristocracy was seduced by the originality of the creations of “a jeweller unlike any other”.
Louis Cartier created jewels and objects d’art, but he also rekindled watchmaking traditions which had been lost for over a century. He made clocks, carriage clocks and jewellery watches with a constant concern for perfection and originality. The accessory timepiece became one of the predominant forms of the activity and prestige of Cartier. The Royal families of Orleans, Spain, England, Greece, international museums, all acquired these exceptional objects.