Andy Warhol created POP
It was the year 1917 when Louis Cartier favored the aesthetic of the rectangle as opposed to the round watches of his generation. Now it may seem like something not so relevant, but at that time, the choice was transgressive and pioneering. The two parallel stretchers became a manifesto, inspired by the design of a military tank seen from above, and thus the Tank watch was born, which soon gave rise to numerous variations.
In 1922, Cartier himself reinterpreted his design. The case was lengthened, the stretchers were streamlined and the angles were softened: the Tank L.C. watch was born. (Louis Cartier), a classic with railway minutes, sapphire cabochon and Roman numerals that laid the foundations for an aesthetic that continues to this day.
The Tank Louis Cartier has Roman numerals and a gold-colored railway minute track. In pink gold for the blue version, it is equipped with a 1917 MC manual manufacture movement.
It was the very Andy Warhol who best understood the spirit of this piece, when he said: "I don't wear a Tank watch to tell the time. Actually, I don't even wind it. I'm wearing a Tank because it's the watch to wear!" Refusing to wind his watch, the leader of pop art thus sacralized the elegance of this design, avant-garde since its inception.
when last week watchmaking novelties of all luxury firms were presented in Watches & Wonders, digitally, we were able to learn that one of the great novelties de Cartier is, precisely, the new Tank Must collection, a reinvention of those codes, which are already part of the heritage and legend of the house.
"They owe their longevity to his immediately recognizable style, but also to his manufacturing excellence, the same that characterizes all Cartier creations down to the smallest detail," he explained. Pierre Rainero, Director of Image, Style and Heritage at Cartier.
Tank Must in steel, with crown set with a blue synthetic spinel cabochon and green lacquered dial, with alligator strap.
MONOCHROMATIC VERSIONS AND A NEW PHOTOVOLTAIC MOVEMENT
Directly inspired by the Tank Louis Cartier, the house's new model features rounded stretchers and a dial with reinterpreted proportions, a rope crown with a pearl cabochon and the return of the traditional buckle in the version with a leather strap. In addition, it features a completely redesigned and interchangeable steel bracelet with profiled links, and High efficiency quartz movement (with autonomy of approximately 8 years).
The Tank, the watch that Warhol didn't even wind up.
Since the launch of the Must in 1977, this emblem of the house created sixty years earlier, is the subject of a corladura version, perfect for a more general public, with a burgundy or all black dial and gold logo engraved on the frame.
True to the spirit of the 1980s, the new steel watch, with a dial without Roman numerals or railway minutes and a total chromatic look with matching bracelets, choose three colors that are part of the firm's DNA: red, blue and green.
Warhol and Keith Haring.
The technical aspect of the pieces is very relevant for the house, since the creation of the Santos watch (1904), the first designed to be worn on the wrist, and after the folding buckle (1910). Whether it's the QuickSwitch patent (2018), which allows the owner to easily swap straps and bracelets, or the latest photovoltaic Tank Must watch face, a modern alternative to quartz movement that does not require a battery change, the achievements of the La Chaux-de-Fonds manufactory have more to do with a research center and creative laboratory than with a mere production plant. Now, have managed to adapt the photovoltaic principle to the face of the Tank watch without altering its aesthetics.
Extra large Cartier Tank Must, crown set with a blue synthetic spinel cabochon and interchangeable steel bracelet.
How? The delicate and invisible perforation of the Roman numerals allows solar energy to reach the photovoltaic cells hidden under the dial. The development teams needed two years to create this SolarBeat TM movement, with a useful life of approximately 16 years, which debuts equipping the Tank Must.
At the same time, the model incorporates a strap made of an innovative material composed of 40% plant material, produced from the waste of cultivated apples for the food industry in Switzerland, Germany and Italy. Thus, the house has an impact on its commitments to the environment and biodiversity. The manufacturing process represents an advance in the preservation of the environment with a reduction in the carbon footprint (divided by 6), saving water (up to 10 litres) and energy (up to 7 megajoules, or approximately 200 mobile charges) with respect to the manufacture of a calfskin strap.
has also been favored the European local approach: apple cultivation and waste recovery in Europe, production center of the material in Italy, manufacture of straps in Portugal, assembly of the watch in Switzerland.
The steel version will arrive in Spain in June, while the Solar Beat (new photovoltaic movement) and the rest of the pieces will arrive in September.