Innovation, when it comes to watchmaking at Cartier, is usually in the context of design. There are so many famous watch designs, many now classic, that come from the famous jewellery house. The Pasha, the Panthère, even the Tank! Most recently, however, Cartier released for the first time ever a Cartier Tank powered by photovoltaic cells – The Cartier Tank Must SolarBeat – a solar powered Cartier Tank!
While the Cartier Tank goes back to Renault FT-17 in WWI, first introduced in 1917 and with the very first being gifted the American General John Pershing in 1918, it has had many iterations over the many decades it has been in production. The Cartier Tank has always been a popular timepiece, with its iconic design still highly sought after. Powered by both mechanical and quartz movements, made as the Tank Solo, Tank Américaine, and even the Tank à Guichets. For the first time ever, however, Cartier has made a Cartier Tank Must powered by the sun!
Anatomy of a Cartier Tank / Credit: The Business Times
The Cartier Tank Must SolarBeat’s movement is a new Cartier quartz caliber meant to run for 16 years before replacement. The photovoltaic cells receive light through the numerals, whereas the rest of the dial is the same as a regular Cartier Tank. In fact, apart from the photovoltaic cells the Cartier Tank Must SolarBeat is very much like any other Cartier Tank. 29.5 mm in diameter by 22 mm in height, the crown is set with a synthetic spinel – the classic ‘sapphire’ that makes the Cartier Tank so elegant. The Roman numerals and ‘chemin de fer’ are still prominent on the dial – essential parts of Cartier Tank design.
So, while a significant change as a veritable first for the Cartier Tank, the SolarBeat certainly stands out in the Cartier collection. However, apart from that new feature, it is very much like any other quartz-powered Cartier Tank. Significant historically, likely to become a classic of some sort 20 years down the line, depending on production volumes and the duration of its tenure in the Cartier catalogue, of course. And yet, still a simple, beautiful, Cartier Tank.
By: Andres Ibarguen