Cartier Tank Anglaise W5310028
The earliest recorded designs of pocket watches from Cartier come as early as 1853. Cartier has since been prolific in the watch market with undoubtedly some of the worlds most treasured and sought after designs. Cartier is even credited with producing the world’s very first wristwatch in 1904 – the Santos. The Santos was created for Louis Cartier’s personal friend and aviation pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont. During the following years, Cartier created watches that were used in both World Wars by the allied forces. Today the brand acknowledges its participation with the Tank line which comprises of the Tank Francaise, Tank Americaine, Tank Chinoise and now the Tank Anglaise.
The story of the Tank watches, one of Cartier’s most celebrated collections, gets a new chapter with the release of the Tank Anglaise earlier this year at SIHH (Salon International Haute Horlogerie). The Tank watches represented the military vehicles of the allied forces during World War I. Currently, the Tank Anglaise comes only in bimetal, and 18kt gold case variations.
The model featured here carries a case made from 18kt yellow gold. The gold case features the winding mechanism incorporated into it, with the only protrusion being the faceted sapphire gemstone set into the nine sided crown. This feature gives the Tank Anglaise a never before seen streamlined and flush case design. The case dimensions for this rectangular watch are 30.2 X 22.7 millimeters, and an ultra-thin case height of a mere 7.19 millimeters. The case back is solid 18kt as well engraved with the Cartier name and individual numbering.
The dial features the iconic Roman numeral chapter ring with the hidden Cartier in the VII Roman Numeral. The dial is silver lacquered flinque motif (rays of sun design). The hands are sword shaped and are crafted from blued steel which stand out wonderfully against the dial.
This model is powered by an accurate quartz movement Calibre Cartier 057 which is used to maintain the thinness of the case. Cartier chooses a shiny gold alligator leather strap Reference KD5AAN58 which is 14mm across and is secured with a 18kt yellow gold ardillon buckle. This model is water resistant to 30 meters and is backed by a 2 year international warrantee. The price of this watch is USD $10,200 (excluding sales tax). 
