The Most Legendary Dress Watch Ever Made - The Cartier Tank Louis Review

To achieve the status of being labeled as influential in watchmaking is one thing, yet very few reach the rarefied air of transcending the category altogether. The Cartier Tank is as worthy as any in reaching this level though, being a symbol of pop culture and arguably being the most timeless design we've ever seen in watchmaking history. In this video, we look at the contemporary format that upholds the core principles from a century ago with the Cartier Tank Louis. I would argue that Cartier has one of the most recognizable names along with Rolex in the entire industry. And that's a feat that doesn't just happen overnight. The luxury jeweler house was founded back in 1847 in Paris, France by Louis-Francois Cartier. However, Cartier's rapid ascension as a watchmaker and jeweler came during the third generation of the family operations, when the company was under the leadership of three brothers, Louis, Jacques, and Pierre during the earlier portion of the 20th century. At this time, it was marked with several innovative moves, including these split operations in multiple cities such as Paris, London, and New York, which all helped in elevating the brand's awareness in these formative years. Beyond just being on the ground in multiple important cities during the period, the brand was a product innovator, being one of the earliest creators of wristwatches in general. The most well-documented story of this period is probably one that you've heard before. It's when Louis Cartier supplied his friend and pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont with a Santos watch that could be worn on his wrist during his trailblazing aerial pursuits. In other words, making the Santos one of the first wristwatches ever worn. Further, the brand developed a relationship with Edmond Jaeger to supply calibers as watchmaking efforts began to scale. At the time of World War I, pocket watches were still ultimately preferred by men, with wristwatches being labeled as wristlets given their more dainty presentation. The military use of trench watches during the war shifted this perception, and the value of being able to quickly see the time became paramount during wartime effort and ultimately led to the gradual shift among everyday consumers. Seeing the writing on the wall, Cartier first designed the Tank Normale in 1917, releasing it to the public in limited quantities in 1919. Despite the watch's popularized elegance in the years to follow, its inspiration comes from a top-down view of a tank known as the Renault FT-17 used during the war. The line case sizes were bold, and these early iterations were made to resemble the treaded areas for movement of these wartime machines. Adding to the allure in military connection, it is rumored that one of the early Tank Normale prototypes was actually gifted to General John Pershing in 1918. However, in the early 1920s, the Tank took the eventual form of what would be the framework for the model in the decades to come with the Cartier Tank Louis. The Tank Louis upheld many of the original principles of the first tank. It had Roman numeral hours, blued hands, the cabochon crown, and the inward linear minute track. Where it separated was with its proportions and more elegantly rounded case sides that helped shift away from any sense of brutalist focus of its origin story. The Tank, despite what many people tend to believe, was not an immediate commercial success, as it took years for the watch to reach significant production levels. That said, the Tank managed to develop an unprecedented sense of pop culture relevance with names like Andy Warhol, Jackie Kennedy, Yves Saint Laurent, Muhammad Ali, Frank Sinatra, and Princess Diana all wearing a Tank over the years. So few timepieces had this ability to transcend the rigid lines of style to something that could be universally accepted, but the Tank succeeded in that regard. Nowadays, there are countless different Tanks to choose from, but the one that pops in my head first is always the Cartier Tank Louis. So now let's look a bit closer at this contemporary model in rose gold. Although this is called the large version, I wouldn't say that is the most accurate of descriptions. The rectangular case measures 25.5mm across, is 6.6mm thick, and has a lug-to-lug of 33.7mm. The 18k rose gold case retains those classic Art Deco contours, with its prominent fully polished case sides that are curved tastefully. Adding to its presence is the ornate 4.5mm crown, and if you look at these dimensions alone, you might be thinking, how is it even possible to wear this watch as a man? Unlike most other watches, the Cartier Tank can't be summed up by mere dimension measurables. Its rectangular shape doesn't play by the rules of its circular counterparts, with the perimeter of gold setting the frame to a clear view of the dial. Factoring all of this in, it only adds to the Tank's ability to emphatically make known of its presence when entering a room, all while never being distasteful in its process of achieving the end result. Water resistance is as you'd expect from a refined dress watch at 30m, given the push-pull crown and the vertically brushed case back that is secured via 8 tiny screws. A surprising trait of the Tank Louis is the use of a mineral crystal as opposed to sapphire, and this is a move I assume is made because of the balance of having more resistance than acrylic, while maintaining a better resistance untreated than that of sapphire in the area of light reflections. Despite the roots of this design seeming far-fetched given its now almost universally acknowledged dress watch status, I think it's fair to say that the Tank is probably not given enough credit as being versatile. The immediate images of this piece being paired with a suit are not wrong, yet are far from complete as well, as I find the Tank works amazing with a variety of outfits including casual attire. The 19mm strap is note perfect in its matte finish brown alligator being produced in France. It has an 18k rose gold pin buckle and quick release on the back of the strap, making swapping between different straps an easy endeavor. Another often imitated but never duplicated Cartier signature is the dial, which you could argue is even more influential than the case itself. The Tank dial is one of the most preserved in all of watchmaking, with only subtle changes being made throughout the generations. In its current structure, you have an off-white or eggshell colored dial that is warmer and works exceptionally well with the rose gold case. The outermost printed points of the dial are marked with large scale roman numerals running the exterior of the railway minute track. The are set at an invisible outer edge, with each outermost point stopping precisely at the same distance from the center dial. The bold, stark numerals are presented with a surrealist warping that, if designed today, would be considered unorthodox, yet after decades of familiarity, it has become a symbol of understated timelessness. The center portion of the dial has the printing of the Cartier brand text beneath 12, tempered blue minute and hour hands are at center, and a beautiful central guilloche backdrop tops things off. So the Tank historically used movements manufactured by JLC and Piaget, with the use of manual winding calibers being a well-documented trait of the Tank Louis especially. Today, the Tank Louis is equipped with Cartier's 1917MC, a manually wound caliber named after the year of the Tank's birth, is 3mm thick, and was designed with a tonneau shape in order to fit within the case. It uses an edicron regulator, and it is quoted by Cartier that inside the case is a paramagnetic alloy that protects the movement. The 1917 beats away at 21,600 vibrations per hour, or 3 hertz, and there is no second hand, so hacking is not going to be a necessity here. The power reserve is only 38 hours, so you will need to wind this one basically daily, but I can think of worse daily tasks. Although it is hidden from view, the movement is decorated with a Cote de Genève finish on the bridges, and has a Perlage finish on the base plate on the dial side. Cartier doesn't quote any range of accuracy that is accepted out of the box, but in our tests going across 5 different positions, this watch is running at plus 6 to plus 10 seconds a day. The Rolex Submariner, the Omega Speedmaster, the AP Royal Oak, and the Cartier Tank. On the one hand, I can understand how people can get fatigued with these designs. They have become a baseline of influence for so many watch brands to follow that we seem to be confronted with them daily. But if you start to think about it and separate the initial design from the aftermath of familiarity, you start to see these watches in a more appropriate light. As much as we like to use the word icon loosely, there are just a select amount of watches that lead to little debate about their worthiness of the term. The Cartier Tank Louis is one on the short list of these legends. In its current form, the Cartier Tank Louis has its faults. Its use of mineral glass is a head-scratcher, its power reserve is going to fall behind many of its competitors, and there is certainly no shortage of alternatives, including within Cartier's own collection, with many of those being able to be purchased for a fraction of the $13,000 retail price of this model. That said, a watch's popularity is rarely cemented immediately. It takes time to prove out one can withstand the test of changing cultural interests and preferences. In order to do this, you need stability and characteristics that will make sense at the time of creation and will only be proven more correct with each passing day. Over a century later, the Cartier Tank Louis, despite a changing world where the game it plays flirts, if not fully entangles with obsolescence, it still is as relevant as it ever was, being a fixture of class, elegance, and ultimately, the most timeless watch design perhaps ever created. But alright guys, that is my take looking at the Cartier Tank Louis. I have long, long, long awaited covering this watch on this channel, and surprisingly, this is the first time I've ever done it. But this is a design that is as timeless as any. I think this watch will stand the test of time for centuries and centuries to come. It is art personified when it comes to being able to wear it on your wrist. There are some shortcomings with it, no doubt about it, but you cannot dock this design, and if you want the taste of a Cartier Tank, it is very hard to scratch that itch elsewhere. But what is your take on the Cartier Tank Louis? Do you like it? Do you not like it? Leave some comments down below. If you enjoyed the video, please give this one a thumbs up. I really do appreciate that as well, and be sure to subscribe. 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