LUXURY LINEAGE: THE CARTIER TANK

From the wrist of General John Pershing to Kim Kardashian.

Like its namesake, the Cartier Tank is unstoppable. The elegant unisex watch, which celebrates its centennial this fall, has been a favorite of movie stars (Clark Gable, Fred Astaire), First Ladies (Jackie Kennedy, Michelle Obama), even royalty (Princess Diana). Andy Warhol proudly owned one but not for its intended purpose. “I don’t wear a Tank to tell the time,” said the man who invented the concept of 15 minutes of fame. “In fact, I never wind it. I wear a Tank because it’s the watch to wear.”

1917

according to company lore, the Tank was designed by Louis cartier, the founder’s grandson, after being inspired by the tread of a renault FT-17 light tank, a mechanical hero of the Great War. more likely, the design was an elegant update of the square cartier santos watch. But the military connection made for good marketing—the first cartier Tank was presented as a victory watch to american general John pershing in 1918.

1919

The watch, with its roman numerals, railroad-track minute markers and signature sapphire cabochon crown, was offered for sale in paris. six were sold in 1920, and it was given a name—the Tank normale.

1921

cartier threw the Tank a curve when it introduced the first variation on the normale—the Tank cintrée, an elongated watch with a curved case that hugged the wrist. Because each new cintrée has been produced in limited editions, it has remained one of the most collectible 20th-century watches, routinely selling for between $25,000 and $50,000, and as much as $250,000 for exceptional platinum versions.

1926

The watch made its movie debut when rudolph Valentino insisted on wearing his Tank during his final film, The Son of the Sheik. call it an anachronism—or proof of the Tank’s timelessness.

1963

First Lady Jackie Kennedy was given a 1962 Tank ordinaire by her brother-in-law prince stanislaw “stas” radziwill. in June 2017, the watch broke the record for the most expensive cartier Tank ever auctioned, selling for $379,500— to Kim Kardashian.

1996

having released the Tank américaine in 1989, a curved cousin of the cintrée, cartier introduced the sportier Tank Française, which had a chain-link bracelet. a postdivorce princess diana was often photographed in a gold version, and michelle obama wore a stainlesssteel Tank Française in her official portrait as First Lady in 2009.

1976

more than a decade after the cartier family sold the business, the new owners created a lower-priced line, Les must de cartier. in 1976, the cartier must de Tank, with colorful lacquered dials and no numbers, debuted. The gold-plated quartz watch, which retailed for about $150, tarnished the prestige of the brand, but sales were extraordinary, and they remain collectible, often selling for more than $1,000.

2012

cartier put another country on the Tank map with the Tank anglaise. a variation on the Française, the anglaise came in three types of gold and housed the crown in the watch’s brancard, a reminder that a Tank should always protect.

2017

For the watch’s centennial, cartier has introduced a battalion of Tanks in some of its most iconic models, including a Tank américaine that’s finally available in stainless steel (beginning at $5,750); a tribute to the man who got it all ticking, a Tank Louis cartier (beginning at $9,750); and skeletonized versions of the Tank cintrée, limited to editions of—what else?—100.