The Story of Must de Cartier Tank: A Square Icon
- Cph Vintage Watches
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
In the 1970s and 1980s, the so-called quartz crisis swept across th Swiss watch industry. Here's the story of how that gave birth to a rectangular watch icon.
At Cartier's head office in France, the executives were scratching their heads asking how they could they make sure that the expensive Swiss-made watches didn't become redundant?
The answer: Instead of fighting against the new technology, they decided to embrace the development and use the new, more affordable movements to spread the Cartier brand to even more customers. The reasoning was that even people who previously could never dream of being able to afford a Cartier watch should now have the opportunity.
The story goes that during one of the many meetings, a marketer at Cartier exclaimed "Cartier, it's a must", thus creating the narrative that everyone should have at least one Cartier watch in their collection. The name for the new line of watches was therefore obvious: Must de Cartier.
A small watch with a big impact
Of the many watches produced under the Must de Cartier brand, the Tank model is probably the most iconic. Watch enthusiasts around the world recognize the Tank watch, which has become synonymous with Cartier watchmaking.
Because this line introduced a fresh breath of air to the Cartier line-up, the brand also allowed itself to play more with the creative expression. Thus, vintage Must de Cartier Tank watches are available with many different and beautiful dials in all kinds of colors and designs.
This attracted a large number of buyers, including well-known personalities. The Must de Cartier Tank has been worn by everyone from Andy Warhol to Muhammed Ali, which underscores just how timeless and versatile a vintage watch is.
Relaunch has made prices soare
In 2021, Cartier surprised the watch world by resuming production of the Must de Cartier Tank watch, which has only caused demand for the original vintage models to rise even further. In the last five years, the prices of vintage Must de Cartier Tank watches have increased by an average of over 50%.
Whether it's an investment, a piece of jewellery or both, and no matter who you are, we at Cph Vintage Watches agree that you should have at least one Cartier watch in your collection. It's simply a must.
