This Tank Amricainewas produced as part of the Collection Prive Cartier Paris, which aimed to bring back some of the jeweller's most iconic designs, combined with high quality manual-winding movements. It features a distinctiveyet classic design,housed inarare platinum case. This piece is among the first 30 delivered, as confirmed by the serial number on the caseback.

The Collection Prive Cartier Paris

In the last decade of the 20th century, the industry was still recovering from the impact of the quartz crisis, with consumers just starting to redevelop an interest in mechanical watches. In the midst of this, Cartier aimed to reestablish its credibility as a true watchmaking manufacture. From 1998 to 2008, the Collection Prive Cartier Paris brought back some of the most iconic Cartier designs from the past century, from the to the ,combined with high quality mechanical movements. In many cases, these distinctive designs hadnt been produced for decades, speaking to the jewellers desire to place an increased focus on its heritage.

All the Collection Prive Cartier Paris - or CPCP for short - pieces housed high-quality mechanical movements, at a time when the jeweller was mostly associated with quartz. Not possessing the mechanical knowledge in-house, Cartier relied on a range of external suppliers, such as Jaeger-LeCoultre, Frdric Piguet, Piaget or - a collaborative movement manufacture between , Denis Flageollet and . All the movements were manual-winding, rather than automatic, emphasising the traditional nature of this project.

All the Collection Prive Cartier Paris watches feature small, distinctive details, intended to set them apart. With the exception of the Cintre, all of them are signed Cartier Paris on the dial, a subtle nod to their vintage pieces. They also display a central rose motif just beneath the hands, which radiates into a classic guilloch. Even the subtle engravings on the caseback are reminiscent of what they used to do in the early 20th century. As for the manual-winding movements, these were finished in-house by Cartier, with their interlaced double C pattern appearing across the collection.

Despite the brands global reach at the time, the Collection Prive models were produced in small quantities, with many explicitly limited to 50, 100 or 150 pieces. As for those that werent marked as part of a numbered series, evidence suggests that production often remained between 200 to 500 pieces. Eventually, partially due to difficulties and delays in getting parts from their various suppliers,theCPCPprogram came to an end.

The Tank Amricaine

The Tank Amricaine was first envisioned in 1989, intended as a more masculine interpretationof the classic Tank Cintre.It built on the elongated and curved design of the Cintre, whilst bringing some of the proportions more in line with contemporary tastes,making it thicker and wider, with a greater presence on the wrist. The jeweller experimented with the design for a few years, ultimately settling on the configuration visible in this piece, which arguably represents the most desirable incarnation of the Tank Amricaine.

Introduced in 1998, the first year of theCollection Prive Cartier Paris, thisTank Amricaine integrates a range of distinctive features.It is made out of platinum, which is the most rarely used metal across the Collection Prive Cartier Paris. The case follows the classic lines of the original Tank from 1917, which was inspired by the Renault tanks which Louis Cartier saw in use on the Western Front. Building on the legacy of the Tank Cintre, the design is elongated and slightly curved, reaching43mm by 25mm. The case hugs the wrist, in a way that is both supremely comfortable, yet distinctively elegant and characterful.

Thepolished sides of the bezel feature an arched shape, sloping down as they reaches the extremities of the case. Meanwhile, the sides of the case are brushed, which creates an interesting interplay of textures, with a sapphirecabochon bringing a touch of colour. As with all platinum pieces from the CPCP series, this Tank Amricainefeatures a closed caseback, with a brushed finish.This piece is among the first 30 delivered, as confirmed by the "N. 002X" serial number on the caseback.

As is to be expected, the dial is signed Cartier Paris at 12 oclock, a nod to some pieces from the early 20th century, which had the citys name inscribed below the brand. The dial is made out of 18 carat gold, featuring a central rose motif just beneath the hands, which radiates into a traditional guilloch. Evidence suggests that the inspiration for this central rose came from vintage Cartier clocks, which often featured the distinctive decoration. The rail track and Roman numerals are stamped directly onto the dial in black ink, whilst the blued steel hands are executed in a legible sword shape.

The Movement

This platinum Cartier Tank Amricaineis powered by the Calibre 430MC, which is based on a Piaget bauche. Piaget helped develop a range of calibres for the Collection Prive Cartier Collection, drawing on their mechanical expertise, notably in the field of ultra-thin movements. The manual winding nickel lever movement features 18 jewels, 36 hours of power reserve and a mono-metallic balance.

The Set

Closer look