The Cartier Tank was first sold to the public in 1919. That year marks the model’s commercial debut and its entry into full production, when Cartier made an initial run of only six watches.
Louis Cartier created the design in 1917, drawing inspiration from the bold geometry of Renault tanks seen on the Western Front during the First World War. Cartier presented an early prototype to General John J. Pershing of the American Expeditionary Force in 1918, which explains why 1918 sometimes appears in accounts of the Tank’s early history.
The original Tank’s defining structure was its integrated vertical sidebars, known as brancards. Other signatures included Roman numerals, a chemin de fer minute track, blued-steel sword hands, and a sapphire cabochon on the crown.
The dates are easy to confuse: 1917 refers to the design, 1918 to its introduction and prototype story, and 1919 to commercial production and public availability. Later versions included the Tank Louis in 1922, the Tank Américaine in 1989, and the Tank Française in 1996.