Cartier

When French industrialist and automobile industry pioneer Louis Renault unveiled his design for the Renault FT Tank that went into production in 1917 in France during the height of The Great War, little could he have known about another revolutionary design that was brewing.

Emerging first in 1917, Louis Cartier was inspired by Renault’s ingenious feat of engineering and designed the timepiece to reflect the world’s first modern tank, the Renault FT, seen from above. The first prototype was presented as a gift to General John J. Pershing, and thus, the first Cartier Tank was born. The Tank was then introduced to the market in 1919. And just like how the Renault FT is regarded as one of the most revolutionary military designs in history, the Cartier Tank revolutionized watch design with the first tick of its hands.

From the first Tank sprang a kaleidoscope of colors and designs that went on to dazzle and delight avant-garde tastemakers of the 20th century. The Art Deco Movement and continued popularity of Chinoiserie in the 1920s and 1930s inspired a series of groundbreaking designs such as the Tank Cintrée, Tank Chinoise, Tank à Guichet, Tank Obus Savonette, and Tank Basculante, many of which have been re-launched by Cartier in recent years to the delight of collectors. Adored by the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Yves Montand, Ingrid Bergman, Andy Warhol, and Frank Sinatra, any discerning man or woman of taste wouldn’t be without a Tank adorning their wrists in the decades that followed its creation. However, one design that collectors have consistently returned to decade after decade, is the Tank Normale. 

To power its exceptionally designed watches, Cartier turned to Paris-based watch maker Edmond Jaeger during the 1920s to form the European Watch and Clock Company. The joint venture granted Cartier exclusive access to all European Watch and Clock Company movements for a period of 15 years. Edmond Jaeger turned to movement specialist LeCoultre & Cie. to manufacture the technologically advanced and ultra-thin movements he envisioned, and to produce the necessary quantity to fill the increasing amount of orders from Cartier. The three-way relationship turned out to be so successful that Jaeger and LeCoultre & Cie. officially merged to become Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1937, and Cartier continued to rely on movements provided by the firm for decades. Watches bearing movements that exemplify this three-way partnership have since become highly sought after for their rarity and technological ingenuity for the time. 

The present Tank is modeled after the very first design conceived by Louis Cartier back in 1917. Crafted during a pivotal decade in the 20th century, our Tank Normale was born during a period of significant cultural and societal change. The 1960s was marked by the Civil Rights and Counter Culture movements that challenged and redefined societal and cultural norms giving rise to changes in music, fashion, art, gender roles, and civil rights. At the same time, the 1960s was also the Man Men era of the heyday of advertising and rising consumerism coupled with technological innovations that transformed the home and the workplace. 

Meanwhile, Maison Cartier was going through a seachange of its own. With the death of the last of the three Cartier brothers, Pierre Cartier in 1964, Cartier’s global branches, the Maison’s three headquarters in New York, London and Paris were sold separately. This particular piece represents this pivotal moment in Cartier’s history. Bearing crisp French Assay marks and the distinctive French EJ maker’s mark of Edmond Jaeger, the case is in beautiful condition for its age. At its heart beats the iconic Caliber 838 by Jaeger LeCoultre known as the world's thinnest earthquake resistant movement at the time. It makes one wonder, with every tick of its hands recording the passage of time, what great histories this watch once bore witness to. A timeless timepiece fit for the modern, jet-setting history lover.