The Cartier Tank Americaine is a more debonair and americanised reinterpretation of the classic Cartier Tank model. Launched in 1989, the timepiece’s design features an unusual rectangular case with rounded edges and a stretched, slightly convex curved shape which allows for a better fit and greater level of comfort on the wrist. This shape and style has taken inspiration from drawings produced from Cartier’s New York workshop, and makes just as good an everyday watch as well as more of a dress piece.
The Cartier Tank Americaine Diamond Watch
From a design and colour choice perspective, the Cartier Tank Americaine has some of the most extensive options available in comparison to many other luxury watches, and there are a range of four different sizes from small to extra large. The extra large model is either plain or available with a chronograph function, which is not the case in the smaller models. Tank Americaine watches are also versatile when it comes to movements, featuring a choice manual, quartz and automatic movements.
In 2009 Cartier updated the model and released the Cartier Tank Americaine Tourbillon Volant, which features Cartier’s first in-house tourbillon calibre, the hand-wound Calibre 9452 MC. The inclusion of the tourbillon counters gravity’s effects by mounting the escapement and balance wheel inside a rotating cage, helping to negate the effects of gravity when the timepiece, and escapement, is rotated. This feature increases the watch’s accuracy and its placement, clearly visible on the face, sets the watch apart from the rest with its striking beauty.