.svg)
A Watch The World Already Knows.
There are watches you learn to love, and then there are watches you already know. The Cartier Tank Louis belongs firmly in the second camp. Even if you’ve never worn one, you’ve seen it. Even if you’ve never noticed it, your brain already understands it. That’s not marketing. That’s cultural saturation earned over more than a century.
The Tank was born in 1917, drawn by Louis Cartier, who looked at the new Renault tanks rolling through World War I and saw something unexpected. Not brutality, but form. The straight brancards echoing tank treads. The flat planes. The discipline of symmetry. From a machine of war came one of the most enduring shapes in design history. Few objects manage that kind of transformation without losing clarity. The Tank never blinked.
This Louis variant is the purest expression of the idea. Long, elegant side brancards. A perfectly proportioned rectangle. A dial layout so recognizable that you can spot it across a room before you even process why. Roman numerals stretched just enough to feel architectural without trying. The chemin de fer minute track keeping everything honest. Blued steel hands cutting cleanly across the dial. And there it is, quietly tucked into the VII, Cartier’s secret signature. A wink for those who know.
Everyone knows what a Tank looks like because everyone important has worn one. Jackie Kennedy wore hers like a second skin. Andy Warhol famously said he didn’t even wind his, he just liked wearing it. Statesmen, artists, actors, editors, collectors. The Tank didn’t belong to one world. It moved easily between all of them.
This example is housed in solid 18k yellow gold, sized at the large 23mm, which today reads exactly how it always has. Right. On a man, on a woman, on a wrist that doesn’t care about labels. It wears with an ease that modern sizing debates tend to miss entirely. It sits flat. It disappears under a cuff. It shows itself when it wants to.
Inside, a quartz movement. Purists may raise an eyebrow. We don’t. This is the version you grab without thinking. The one that’s simply there when life happens. Job interviews. Birthdays. Dinners that turn into something more. Mornings you’re not sure about yet. You put it on, and it does what it has always done. That reliability becomes part of the appeal.
The dial here is beautifully preserved. Clean, crisp, and free of cracks or lacquer issues. The caseback engravings and hallmarks remain sharp and legible, a quiet reassurance that this watch has lived carefully. It comes fitted with a leather strap and a gold-plated Cartier Tank buckle, exactly as it should.
You’re not buying a watch here. You’re buying an object that has already outlived trends, opinions, and entire generations. And it’s ready to do it again.
Overall, the watch presents in excellent vintage condition with strong visual presence and honest wear consistent with age.
The 18k yellow gold case is well preserved with clean lines and light surface wear.
The dial is pristine with no cracks, damage, or lacquer degradation, and all printing remains crisp.
The caseback shows sharp engravings, clear hallmarks, and legible serial numbers.
The blued steel hands are original and well preserved, and the crystal is clear with no distracting marks.
The leather strap is brand new and fitted with a gold-plated Cartier tang buckle. The buckle shows small signs of wear.
The quartz movement has been fitted with a fresh new battery and is keeping time as expected.
We are here to be your trusted source of romantic vintage watches. We stand behind the products we curate with a 100% authenticity guarantee, a 1 year warranty and a 3-day return policy to ensure you are completely satisfied with your purchase.
