Cartier Presents A Refined Tank Américaine And New Variations Of The Tank Louis Cartier

Here we go, folks! Watches and Wonders 2023 has officially opened its doors! Though Czapek got a half-hour head start with its releases this morning, Cartier is following hot on its heels. This is one of the brands that I was most looking forward to seeing new watches from this year, and these releases don’t disappoint. Among other things, the French maison is releasing an updated Tank Américaine and a few playful variations of the Tank Louis Cartier. They’re all new but still very recognizable and unmistakably Cartier. Let’s check them out!

Overall, Cartier speaks one of the most distinctive design languages in the watch industry. That’s why many of the brand’s designs, even though they have existed for decades, still look very unique. Arguably, the most famous design is the Tank. It’s always rectangular, but even within that realm, the brand can design many different-looking watches. Just look at the Cartier Tank Française, Américaine, and Louis Cartier side by side. Each one has a unique character. Earlier this year, La Maison already presented the updated Tank Française. Now it’s time for the Tank Américaine to receive a revision and for a few new variations of the Tank Louis Cartier to join the collection.

Tank Américaine

The Tank Américaine first debuted in 1989. It’s an elongated version of the Tank that feels a little more elegant on the wrist. I had the pleasure of trying on the outgoing model at a recent get-together, and I must say, I was surprised. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. I’ve always liked the classic Tank, but it was never very comfortable on me. Because of its curved case, the Tank Américaine feels more “connected” to the wrist.

That outgoing model had a date, a guilloché pattern on the dial, and a central seconds hand. On this year’s Tank Américaine, all of those are gone. The new design comes in Mini, Small, and Large sizes, and not a single one has a date window. And instead of the guilloché pattern, all of the dials are now brushed, with a sunburst pattern on the Mini and a vertically brushed finish on the Small and Large models. The lack of a seconds hand on both the Mini and Small sizes, which both house a quartz movement, isn’t that surprising. But even on the Large model, which has an automatic movement, there’s no central seconds hand anymore.

The beauty is in the details

The octagonal crown also seems to be less pronounced on the new Tank Américaine. This is funny because, on the new Tank Must and Tank Louis Cartier, the crown has actually become more pronounced. The Roman numerals are still on the dial, of course, but the minute track now looks slightly different. The lines within the track now seem to be floating rather than touching the outer and inner edges. Cartier also mentions having improved the transition from the strap to the case. All in all, this new Tank Américaine has been refined to the smallest detail.

As I said, the 2023 Cartier Tank Américaine will be available in three sizes — Mini (28mm × 15.2mm × 6.5mm), Small (35.4mm × 19.4mm × 6.8mm), and Large (44.4mm × 24.4mm × 8.6mm). All three of them will come in both steel and rose gold. In addition, you can get the Mini and Small models with diamonds on the brancards. And there’s even a rhodium-finished white gold version of the Mini with diamonds all over the brancards and the matching bracelet. We will update you on pricing once we have information on that.

Tank Louis Cartier

Alongside the updated Tank Américaine models, Cartier is also introducing new versions of the Tank Louis Cartier. The 1921 Tank LC is characterized by its gold case and manual-winding movement. Last year, La Maison introduced a version in yellow gold with a black dial and gold hands. This year, just like the steel Tank Must in 2021, Cartier adds both green and burgundy lacquered dials. The colors pair perfectly with the yellow gold case, and the gold hands jump right at you too. And there’s no seconds hands here either, of course, so as not to mess with the minimalist design approach.

By contrast, the other two Tank Louis Cartier models debuting today are anything but minimalistic. They take inspiration from the geometric shapes that Cartier used on the Tank Must in the 1970s. One version comes in yellow gold, and it has a mosaic-like pattern with hundreds of tiny squares — I counted 396 — in white, yellow, and rose gold. To me, it almost looks like a beautiful golden sunset, or it could also be a golden winter storm. In any case, it’s a dial that you certainly won’t get bored of looking at on your wrist. The other geometrically inspired Tank LC is made of rose gold. The sunburst-brushed dial is also finished in white, yellow, and rose gold. But this time, the rectangles are a bit bigger, almost like lined-up dominos.

The house of finesse

With the revised Tank Américaine and playful additions to the Tank LC lineup, Cartier shows its mastery of watches as “jewelry” in the best sense of the term. Apart from being beautiful, these models are also very interesting to look at, which just makes you want to wear one. And even though they are new designs, they still feel very familiar. I’m a bit disappointed that Cartier got rid of the guilloché dials on the Tank Américaine. But on the other hand, it’s great that the designers also left out the date and the seconds hand.

At the time of writing, we have no information on pricing yet, but the prices of the new Tank Américaine shouldn’t be too different from the current ones. For example, the Small size in steel sells for €4,100, and the Large one in rose gold is available for €17,400. And based on the current Tank Louis Cartier, we can estimate that the new models will sell for somewhere around €13,000 or more because of the detailing on the dials. For more information, please also check the official Cartier website.

Let us know which one of these Tanks you’d like to try out in the comments below.

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