You will find “Paris” either on “double signed” dials, engraved on the caseback – or both, or neither. For this reason many people prefer Tanks that bear the Paris mark. His two younger brothers would go on to open and run the New York and London boutiques, but Louis is the father of the Tank, and Paris its home. The flagship boutique, at 13 Rue de la Paix, was under the stewardship of Louis Cartier, who designed the Tank and released it in 1919. Headed by Louis Cartier from 1903-1942, Pierre Cartier 1942-1947, non-family heads (1947-1966) (sold to holding company in 1966) Movements from Jaeger + LeCoultre (later JLC proper), Piguet, Piaget, Journe, and more.
Cartier Paris Produced Tanks starting in 1919. For example, London didn’t start producing Tanks until the very early 1950s, typically taking stock from the Paris workshop. However, it’s important to take the individuality of these three branches with a grain of salt, as they shared resources, designs, designers, and even stock over the years. Knowing this doesn’t guarantee that you’ll understand a whole lot more about the watch, but it will eliminate 2/3s of the possible explanations. When trying to establish provenance for the Cartier Tank, the first thing to sort out (if and when you can) is which branch issued it. I think of the Cartier Tank like The Blues: there are a million ways to do the same thing over and over.
The result of this arrangement has been a remarkable consistency in the Tank’s core design, but with a vast variation of details coming out of each of the three branches over the years. Louis, the eldest, would take over the Paris firm, while Pierre would head up New York, and Jacques, the youngest, would find himself in charge of the London branch.Ĭartier’s three main branches were dedicated to maintaining Cartier’s high standards and powerful branding, but each branch operated independently to best serve their unique clientele. With the third generation of Cartier jewelers, three brothers set out to dominate the world. One Firm, Three Branches – Paris, New York, London However, when in doubt about a Tank’s origin, the movement may provide a clue, if not a definitive answer, as we shall see. Both reference numbers and serial numbers can fail to establish a solid provenance.
To reduce counterfeiting, Cartier does not publish their serial numbers, nor do they have an public-facing online database. The serial numbers are often on the caseback. Thus, we humbly acknowledge that this primer is incomplete, yet we offer it with the hope that you will emerge with a decent idea of where to begin your own journey into the world of the Cartier Tank.īefore we dive in, it will be helpful to know that Cartier didn’t use reference numbers until much later (likely in the 2000s), so for any vintage pieces one has to rely on serial numbers. Second, we consider the main variations of the Tank.Įven the most persistent variations of the Tank, however, reveal a level of variation that boggles the mind and confuses the collector. We first will look at Cartier’s three main branches in Paris, London, New York, each of which produced Tanks in different ways. This primer takes a bird’s eye view of the Cartier Tank in order to help the novice. Collector Guide – A Detailed Primer On a Century of Cartier Tanks (1919-present)Ĭartier has been making the Tank for over 100 years, and the firm’s penchant for refining and proliferating the design has assured that no one – not even Cartier – has a complete taxonomy of the Tank.
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