I recently dined at Harry’s Bar in London with a friend who also happens to be a world-renowned and highly influential collector of contemporary timepieces. So, in theory, I should have been surprised to see him wearing a steel quartz watch.
My friend is courted by auction houses, retailers and brand CEOs alike, all anxious for him to give the imprimatur of his approval by having one of their watches enter his collection. I imagine there were watch bosses across Switzerland with fiendishly clever, correspondingly priced grand complications to shift who were grinding their teeth in fury that a battery-powered, time-only watch was taking up prime wrist real estate that could otherwise have been occupied by a minute repeater double tourbillon equation of time perpetual calendar moonphase.
But bruxism be damned. There he was, pleased as punch, with the new, green-dialled Cartier Tank Must on his wrist; he had received it in the post that morning with a burgundy one for his wife. Overhearing our conversation, a friend at another table dashed over, also brandishing a new Must. He was wearing the blue iteration but had taken the wise precaution of purchasing every colour. Suddenly my mind’s eye swam with images of postmen heaving sacks of Cartier watches around Mayfair and Belgravia and sorting offices piled high with horology.
Such is the power of Cartier these days that a (relatively) cheap and (extremely) cheerful retread of a great 1970s classic, first introduced by Alain Dominique Perrin in 1977, has become a hit with serious collectors and civilians alike.
Five years ago, it was a very different story. Cartier watch sales were shrinking, as the brand chased the market for complications and chunky sports models. There was absolutely nothing wrong with these watches, but to me they brought to mind Paul Newman’s observation about going out for a hamburger when you have steak at home. Cartier has one of the best back catalogues in the industry, yet it was largely ignoring it and trying to move into spaces that were already occupied. If I want a complication, I visit Patek Philippe; if I take up diving, Rolex has been in the Submariner business for almost 70 years.
It seems that I was not the only person thinking that way. Cyrille Vigneron shared my views and happily, as the incoming CEO of Cartier, he was able to do something about it. He realised that real men did not always need to display their virility with a hamburger watch and that, when the situation demanded, they could tap into the Cartier chic. Having taken the helm in 2016, he reissued some of the great classics: the Santos, the Panthère, the Pasha and now the Tank Must. Simultaneously he released limited-edition runs of the stuff that gets Cartier nuts excited: the Tonneau, the Cloche, the Crash, the Cintrée and the Asymétrique.
I always saw a Cartier timepiece as a vital component of a certain, slightly decadent Parisian elegance – a sort of horological distillation of a multigenerational journey through the Paris of Boni de Castellane, Bernard Boutet de Monvel, Yves Montand, Yves Saint Laurent and Alain Delon. And king among Cartier watches is, of course, the Tank, which made its debut just before the 1920s started to roar and the watch became the choice of the jazz age elite. It has been modern since it was launched more than 100 years ago.
Whereas the pocket watch it replaced had been circular, the Tank, the best known of the early purpose-designed wrist-worn timepieces of the new century, was rectilinear. In many ways it can be seen as one of the earliest icons of the art deco period, inasmuch as the quality of linearity extended beyond the case design: the numerals were Roman and the minute track took the shape of a railway track that ran around the edge of the dial.
One of the great proofs of the Tank’s design genius is its versatility. During the 1920s and 1930s, it was joined by many variations: the Tank Cintrée (1921), the Tank Chinoise (1922), the Tank Savonette (1926), the Tank À Guichets (1928), the Tank Basculante (1932) and the Tank Asymétrique (1936). Prices for the originals have soared after the wave of interest in Cartier. Thus, the relaunch of Must is such a smart move: it is the
people’s Tank.
In referencing the 1970s original, it demonstrates the playful side of the Tank. But, showing its versatility, it is also a watch that addresses the more serious aspects of life today. There is even a Must for the modern environmental activist: a solar-powered version on an upcycled strap. The watch’s “Solarbeat” photovoltaic charging system is fed by light that filters through the numerals on the dial and Cartier claims a 16-year battery life – so it will be 2037 before it needs a service. By which time, for the good of the planet, I hope solar energy is powering a lot more than watches.
Strap
Three colours are available (black, blue and green), all made from non-animal leather.
Case
The watch comes in two sizes: 29.5 x 22mm and 33.7 x 25.5mm.
Indexes
Hidden in the classic Roman numerals you’ll spot Cartier’s “secret signature” at seven o’clock.
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