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Must de Cartier Tank — Black Dial

Details

The Story

We love vintage Must de Cartier pieces at Danny’s Vintage Watches and this late-70s piece is another killer example — with its clean, glossy Roman numeral black dial 18k gold electroplated case it’d look at home on anyone from Andy Warhol to Fred Astaire (both notorious Cartier Tank wearers). Uncommon white hands add crisp contrast against the dial and original Cartier cabochon crown.

The Details

Brand: Must de Cartier

Model: Tank

Features: time-only, glossy black dial

Case: 23mm, 18k gold plated

Movement: original Cartier manual winding

Bracelet/Strap: red-orange Italian calfskin with original Cartier buckle

Lug Width: 17mm

Box & Papers: none

Condition: some normal plating wear on case corners and non-original crystal, dial is in great condition

Key Specs
History

Louis Cartier designed the Tank in 1917, inspired by the aerial view of a Renault FT tank on the Western Front — its parallel "rails" mimicking the tracks, its rectangular body echoing the vehicle's profile. The watch was introduced in 1919 and immediately claimed its place as one of the most significant case designs in watchmaking history.

The Tank has never gone out of production, and its list of admirers reads like a century of cultural history: Jackie Kennedy, Andy Warhol, Princess Diana, Yves Saint Laurent. It is the watch of the intelligentsia, the creative, the quietly powerful.

The Tank Must — introduced in the 1970s in vermeil (gold-plated silver) — democratized the design, bringing the silhouette to a new generation. The Tank Louis Cartier in 18-karat gold represents the elevated end. The Tank Solo in stainless steel is the accessible entry point. All three carry the same essential idea: that a rectangle of precious metal can be more beautiful than any complication.