Every year, Cartier Replica, with its typical elegance, winks at its most loyal fans and collectors, dedicating to them another member of the limited, exclusive Prive family. It houses watches that have written a chapter in the brand’s history. So far, these have included: Crash, Cintrée, Cloche or Chinoise, shown last year. This year, the French chose a simple, minimalist, but at first glance constituting the essence of Cartier design, the Tank Normale model.
Normal in name, the new Tank in fact has all the makings of representing normality in the brand’s version. The watch is simple in almost every detail, but summa summarum, the simplicity of these details exudes the luxury and style of a Parisian maison. For example, the case is made of either 18 ct yellow gold or even more valuable and unique platinum. Its form clearly resembles the rectangular outline of a classic tank, with lugs flowing smoothly into the sides of the casing. Regardless of the version, the whole thing is finished with a satin finish, which is further enhanced by polishing on the edges. Tank Normale measures 32.6 x 25.7 mm, is 6.85 mm thick and – which is worth remembering just in case – is not resistant to even minor splashes.
The dial of the Tank Normale is thoroughly Cartier. The silver dial has painted Roman hour markers, an internal minute ring, the brand logo and just two hands that measure time. In the gold model they are blue, in the platinum model they are silver. They are powered by the manual caliber 070, which has a power reserve of 38 hours. There is one more detail worth attention on the dial – the date 1917, subtly incorporated into the “VII” index – the year of premiere of the first Tank model.
Both models will be produced in a limited number of only 100 pieces (each) with a bracelet and 200 with a strap, with prices ranging from EUR 27,900 (~PLN 130,600) to EUR 48,200 (~PLN 225,600).
Tank Normale Skeleton
For fans of the skeleton design often proposed by Cartier, three additional references have been prepared, with an open dial and mechanism option. However, Cartier did not stop there, because the watches have 24-hour time display – the hour hand makes one full revolution around the dial per day. To facilitate quick reading of the current time (which is unlikely to be intuitive in this variant), the skeletonized bridges are covered with a gradient coating, light at the top (for daytime hours) and dark at the bottom (for night hours).
The skeletonized Normale version has the same case materials – gold or platinum – and dimensions of 35.2 x 27.8 mm. These models were offered only in a version with a strap and were limited to 50 pieces. However, if luxury is not enough for you, there is also a platinum version studded with diamonds.