Cartier Tank Cintrée '7 Lignes' - London

The Cartier Tank was one of the first wristwatches. Full stop!

Inspired by the Renault Tanks used on the battlefield in WWI — yes, true story. Revolutionary at the time, Louis Cartier took inspiration from the profile of the treads on a period Renault tank, and based the case on them by way of the of brancards doubling as the lugs themselves. Over the course of the 20^th Century, the Tank became the watch to wear. Silent movie stars like Rudolph Valentino, artists like Andy Warhol, and even Jackie Kennedy were all fans of the signature timepiece from the King of Jewelers and the Jeweler of Kings. An icon indeed in the truest sense of the word.

The model was first introduced in a few different case shapes which bore different names that intertwine with the inspiration behind them.

The Tank 'Cintrée' was one of these early designs.

In 1921, Cartier introduced the now legendary Cintrèe model, an elongated, curved take on the Tank 'Normale'. The word "cintrée" translates to ‘curved’ in French — another example of how literal Cartier can be. Like so many watches, the Cintrée underwent a number of minor changes over the years, with very early examples favoring 'Breguet'-style hands, while later exampled shifted to blue-steel 'sword' hands.

Cintrées have never been officially discontinued, but are rarely stocked in Cartier boutiques worldwide, making them incredibly scarce and elusive to collectors. A recent example, for the 100th anniversary of the Cintrée in 2021, Cartier simply released and sold 1.1 re-issues of the first Cintrée to its top 150 clients without ever even issuing a press release or announcing the watch! Naturally, finding a vintage Cintrée has become difficult.

What we have here, a small size called the '7 Lignes', features a curved rectangular case like all Cintrée models coming in at approximately 18mm x 34mm. This example, however, has a more rounded rectangular caseback, rather than the 'bubbleback' design that you will typically find on this size. That, in addition to the script text on the lower half of the dial, will reveal why. This piece is a coveted and flat-out rare 'London' Cintrée. During the era that this piece was produced, Cartier London was more or less operating completely independently of Cartier Paris and New York, utilizing different movements, case designs, dial designs, etc. This is when and where pieces like the Pebble and Crash were conceived.

This example is comes to us in very nice overall condition. The case remains very strong, possibly even unpolished, with correct finishing throughout and shows normal signs of wear. At the 3 o'clock position you will find Cartiers classic sapphire cabochon crown, which is used to set and wind the Jaeger-LeCoultre manual-winding movement within. Also inside the case, the correct Cartier London hallmarks confirming the origin of this piece are visible and clear, as is the case number on the outer caseback. The white dial inside has been professionally restored and it looks beautiful. The "Cartier" and "London" script beautifully compliment eachother on their respective halves of the dial, and all of the black text is crisp and clear contrasting that matte white surface. This piece comes fitted to a black alligator leather strap with its correct Cartier signed 18k deployant clasp. And unlike virtually all other vintage Cartier, some of the London pieces actually featured a serial number that matches the case number, which is what we have here. 

Don't let the size fool you, rectangular watches like this have a way of wearing larger than its dimensions would led you to believe, allowing for a surprisingly accommodating wearing experience, even for those with wrists on the larger size.

We only see one or two pieces from Cartier 'London' a year, so let's just say these dont surface often.