Cartier Tank Cintrée '7 Lignes' - 'Paris' Dial
The Cartier Tank was one of the first wristwatches. Full stop!
Inspired by the Renault Tanks used on the battlefield in WWI - yes, thats a true story - the Cartier Tank Louis is one of the worlds most iconic watch designs, and well over one hundred-years old at that. Revolutionary at the time - Cartier took the look of the tank's perpendicular treads and integrated it to the lugs, by way of brancards making it part of the case itself. Over the 20th 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.
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.
The example that we have here, a small size called the '7 Lignes', dates to circa 1970 and remains in fantastic overall condition. It's white dial has changed to a lovely eggshell color and retains crisp printing throughout with a "Paris" signature at the 6 o'clock position. Upon closer inspection, there is some edge wear visible, namely in the top right corner of the dial, and well as what appears to be a light hand-drag mark on the left of the dial. The blued-steel 'sword' handset is complimented by the ubiquitous Cartier sapphire cabochon-set crown, which is beautifully faceted in this case.
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. In fact, the wrist in the photo here is on our Timepiece Specialist's 7.25" (18.5cm) wrist!
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Shipping, Returns, & Warranty
At Oliver & Clarke, domestic shipping is on us! If you are international and require a quote – please feel free to reach out to us at info@oliverandclarke.com so we can get you squared away.
Returns (accepted within 3 days of initial delivery of your purchase) must be sent overnight or by priority international delivery, fully insured and paid for by the customer. For payments via Credit Card, a 5% restocking fee will be in place for any returns or cancellations in order to cover our processing fee. Of course, watches must be returned in the same condition as initially shipped.
If you happen to trade a watch with us, which we welcome, trades are final, except of course if the watch is grossly misdescribed or misrepresented.
We back each Oliver & Clarke timepiece with a one-year mechanical warranty starting at the date of first delivery. We service or perform necessary maintenance to the extent necessary to all of our watches, unless otherwise noted. All watches are listed and sold running and functioning as intended.
*Please note that due to the vintage or antique nature of many of our watches, these machines may not run as accurately as they did when new, nor will any mechanical timepiece keep time as accurately as a quartz or electronic device.
We do not guarantee water resistance, thus do not warranty against moisture incursion or water damage.
*We also do not recommend deliberate exposure to water or worse - steam!
Our warranty is voided under the following circumstances:
- Internal or external damage caused by an accident, mishandling, abuse, modification, or handling/service performed by a third party individual other than one of our own.
Our warranty is non-transferable.
The Oliver & Clarke Guarantee
Through rigorous vetting of each watch offered, we’re able to guarantee authenticity of our pieces. Ultimately, your satisfaction is our mission, as is helping you get YOUR perfect watch. If you have any questions at all, we will get back to you ASAP.
Each of our timepieces are vetted, evaluated, authenticated, and approved by our experienced team prior to sale. We guarantee the period-correctness of all components unless otherwise disclosed. We guarantee the authenticity of each watch in perpetuity.
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From Rolex & Patek Philippe, to Cartier & Audemars Piguet. As collectors first, we love the small details that separate the Submariner from Daytona and Calatrava from Royal Oak. This is why you'll find our curated assortment spans decades of generations of models and brands. We believe that watches don't just tell time, they tell history - and life is too short to wear a boring watch.
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