5 Things to Know Before Buying a Cartier Tank

Thinking about buying a Cartier Tank? There are a few things to keep in mind before making such a purchase. This watch has so many options that it can be easy to make a mistake. We'll tell you what you need to know before investing in the world's best known dress watch.

0:00 Today's Challenge
0:56 So. Many. Shapes.
2:18 The Tank that Gained 300%
2:44 Sizing: How Small is Too Small?
4:28 Steel vs. Gold, Quartz vs. Mechanical
5:41 What the Hell is "Must de Cartier"?
6:51 The Tank's Stiffest Competition

#chrono24 #cartiertank #watchcollecting #watchcollection

[VMIyanks]

My mother passed down my grandfather’s 1952 Longines to me last year for my 40th birthday… My grandmother gifted it to him on their engagement, Christmas 1952 and had it engraved. Small, rectangular, gold filled… I had it serviced and it’s perfect for me to fit that vintage dress niche. It even has his cigarette residue on the dial! RIP Pop Pop!

[Melbnolan]

I’ve worn my 18k gold tank for almost 50 years and still love it.

[markikn]

You just made me feel good. Many years ago i paid $600 for 3 Omega dress watches, including a tiny ladies automatic from the 60s, a ladies round quartz from the 80s and a Tank homage quartz in blingy gold plate. I kept the Omega Tank for myself and love wearing it from time to time, always makes me smile.

So yes, would love a real deal Tank but my cheapo Omega would sit well in your video today. Nice job Tom.

[Iuckylukey]

"Must" actually refers to the English word, as in: "Oh its a must" meaning something you absolutely must get. This expression is used in French.

[luxurywatchinvestment]

Absolutely fantastic breakdown! This is exactly the kind of nuanced perspective buyers need before diving into the world of Cartier Tanks. The discussion around shapes and sizing was especially helpful; too often, people overlook how dramatically these elements affect wearability. Also appreciated the context around value appreciation seeing that 300% gain puts things into perspective for collectors. Would love to see a future deep-dive comparing vintage vs. modern Tanks in terms of movement reliability and servicing costs. Great work!

[ryeofoatmeal]

I got the seiko tank and I'm so happy. now I'm not sure if I ever wanted an actual cartier tank 🫢 I probably still do, twenty years from now lol. seiko has so many varieties of tank in the name of exeline line. I got the seiko SWR054 although I was looking for SUP250 but it seems obsolete! solar movement is hard to find (for seiko) but I'm still happy with my quartz 😄

[aristes]

Love the comment about dress watches being about self expression. I especially love the Longines Dolce Vita (Quartz) on a red leather strap. It has a lovely guilloché pattern on its dial and it is neither too big or small for most wrists. To top it all off, it is priced relatively reasonably for almost any regular person.

[robd]

The Dolce Vita from Longines (mentioned in the video) is a great alternative to the Tank. While not as prestigious, Longines makes some beautiful watches at great prices.

[thetimist]

It's worth noting that if you want to purchase a Cartier Tank Must AND you want a mechanical movement, you can go with the WSTA0040 specifically the XL version, which not only is significantly more affordable than the Tank Louis Cartier, but also adds a date complication at 6 o'clock 😃 I own one, and I absolutely love it 👍 so much so that I made a whole video on it!

[Piface]

You mentioned the Santos but shoutout to the Santos Dumont in particular as it's on the leather bracelet, making it a bit more analogous to the stereotypical Tanks. It's my personal 'square grail' (yes I'm allowed to make up arbitrary categories for grails to justify getting them all)

[rodracir]

I have a vintage (circa 2000) square atlas watch from Tiffany & Co. Nice alternative to the tank and a little different

[dqkrzct]

Great tutorial. The primary issue behind the secondary market for Cartier Tanks, and this is the same for all luxury watchmakers, is speculation and trading among collectors and dealers. Consider it akin to a stock market for watches. The market has become a system to buy low and sell high, versus sell the watch to a buyer/custodian that will actually use, or enjoy the timepiece. It's frustrating because certain model pricing have gone beyond what is even reasonable for the watch. Look at the Basculante; what a joke that is. Indeed rare, but some for $40k. Ridiculous.

[paulsmiscellany]

That was a very cool presentation slash expose on rectangular watches. Thank you!

[food]

4:07 Anyone know where that particular Perlon strap is from?

[MegaThucydides]

When I thought I knew just about all the Tank models, you introduce me to a bunch of rare variants!

[intellips]

Recently added a vintage Must de Cartier vermeil with a hand wound movement to my collection. Gorgeous watch.

[samcrockett]

Recently in Vegas I was able to try on about 5 versions of the Tank. I ended up buying the Reverso Duoface. So IMO the Reverso is the most serious competitor of the Tank. For me, it came down to the perceived greater versatility of the Reverso. I essentially got two watches which I use as a dual time when traveling. While I don’t buy into the “story” that the Reverso is a “sport watch”, it does go further for me towards that sport spectrum than the Tank. Finally, the horological history of JLC made it irresistible.

[minibus]

I love my Tank Must with the burgundy dial.

[charlesboulle]

For those who like the vintage cintrée (and the re-edition), there is a sleeper in the tank americaine family, the ref 1720 (medium size, quartz). Both bring a similar feeling on the wrist thanks to the dimensions (23x45x6 mm for the cintrée, 23x41x6 for the americaine) and to the curvature of the caseback, which unfortunately disappeared with the following references of the medium size quartz. I even wonder if the similarity to the cintrée is the reason why this size was not re-introduced in the current americaine collection

[marklevites]

Thomas, thanks for your videos!
Do you know if the old tank must have different versions of burgundy dials, or are they all initially the same, but aged differently?
I see some dark cherry and some bright red dials. Do they tend to become darker or lighter with time? Thanks a lot!