Cartier, London

Cartier, London

Tank Asymétrique/ Parallélogramme

A rare white gold asymmetrical wristwatch with blue numerals and original white and pink gold deployant buckle, Circa 1992

Dial: cream dial signed Cartier, stretched blue Arabic and triangular hour indexes, blackened pointed baton hands

Calibre: 7’’’ AS calibre 1978-2 (Cartier 160) movement signed Cartier, damascened Côtes de Genève decoration, lever escapement, 17 jewels, annular balance, flat hairspring, Incabloc shock absorber

Case: 18k white gold asymmetrical case, rounded brancards, stepped bezel, brancard to right case side with recess for flat notched winding crown, lugs with spring bars, case back secured by 4 screws between lugs, case back exterior with London hallmarks for 18k gold, date letter ‘S’ for 1992, [JC] Jean-Jacques Cartier punch mark

Case number: numbered HLSD5039, dated 1992

Closure: black unsigned leather strap and 18k white and pink gold deployant buckle, London hallmarks for 18k gold, date letter ‘S’ for 1992, [JC] Jean-Jacques Cartier punch mark

Size: 26 mm length x 25 mm width

Accessories: none

One of the most iconic of all Cartier’s wristwatch designs, the Parallélogramme, transforms the traditional rectangular Tank-form case by twisting it to an oblique angle. The dial mirrors this off-set design, forming a lozenge shape, with the 12 and 6 o’clock markers positioned at the top right and lower left corners of the case, respectively. This unconventional arrangement allowed the time to be quickly and easily read at an angle – for instance, when the wrist was outstretched in front of the wearer, such as resting on a table or on the steering wheel of a car. A similar angled layout was a popular feature of early driver’s watches.

Originally introduced in 1936, the Parallélogramme represents a modernist expression of the late Art Deco period. Its bold and innovative design can be seen as one of the final flourishes of this artistic movement before the onset of the Second World War, which ushered in a more austere and functional era in watchmaking, prioritising simplicity and practicality over experimentation. In her book The Cartiers, Francesca Cartier-Brickell notes that the oblique asymmetric design was one of her grandfather Jean Jacques Cartier’s favourites.

The London workshops produced a limited number of Parallélogramme watches. While some of these retained the sharp, angular style of the original Art Deco models, during Cartier London’s most experimental period (1967–1974), the branch introduced a modernist reinterpretation of the watch – one that was distinctly more fluid and sculptural than its predecessor. In this version, the rigid, straight brancards of the original were reimagined as more cylindrical forms, turning sharply inward at 45-degree angles to meet the strap. The bezel was no longer fully integrated into the case but instead became its own distinctive lozenge form, with softened, rounded edges – reinforcing Cartier London’s preference for organic geometry over rigid symmetry. The cream dial and elongated blue numerals reflect a similarly modernist evolution, subtly reworking Art Deco styling into a more dynamic and unconventional form. This reinterpretation is typical of Cartier London’s approach during this period – not merely reviving historical designs, but deconstructing and reshaping them through a contemporary lens.

Our research suggests that a very small number of specially made white gold Cartier London watches were produced in the early 1990s. These included Allongée, Asymmetric, Octagonal, and Cintrée models. It is believed that as few as three examples of each design may have been made, totalling perhaps just 12 white gold wristwatches in this series.