This Elegant Watch Has Been on the Wrists of the Best Dressed for Over 100 Years

There are a few pieces in our wardrobes that we can truly cherish for a lifetime, but none more timeless than the Cartier Tank watch.

Of course, you can never go wrong with a pair of designer shoes that you save for a special occasion, a wool coat that you can rely on year after year, or maybe even a handbag so classic that it never falls out of favour.

Still, one of the items we're happiest to spend a little extra money on is jewellery, and a luxury watch is one of the most prominent purchases you can make when it comes to an investment buy that will never date.

Given that these aren't flash-in-the-pan impulse buys, you're going to want to invest in a brand and a style that you know will hold its value and look good for years to come.

The one name that keeps cropping up on the wrists of some of history's biggest style icons is Cartier. Scroll back through archival pictures and footage of the past century and you'll spot Cartier watches and jewellery on everyone from Princess Diana to Bella Hadid, Michelle Obama to Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Interestingly, Kim Kardashian purchased the late First Lady's exact gold Cartier Tank watch—a piece she was gifted in 1961, just months before her husband John F. Kennedy's assassination— by her brother-in-law Prince Stanislaw Radziwill—at Christie’s auction in 2017. The sale price? An eye-watering £304,495?

Indeed, this item has reigned at the forefront of fashion for over a century, and its popularity doesn't appear to be waning. (Perhaps it's even been a leader in the "quiet luxury" space long before the aesthetic had even been coined as such). These days, however, the Cartier Tank watch has evolved to include new colours, styles and shapes whilst staying true to its original design.

The Cartier Tank watch can trace its legacy back 100 years, making it one of the enduring timepiece icons of our time.

This decade alone, it appears the Cartier Tank watch has transcended its reputation and become one of the most desirable investment pieces of the 2020s. A report published by luxury resale platform Fashionphile revealed that searches for the timepiece doubled between 2023 and 2024 alone.

So, can you tell Cartier Tank if you spot one? Easy. The hallmarks include the curved link band, the rectangular case and a touch of Art Deco elegance. So if you're looking for an accessory that isn't ostentatious but still grabs attention, here is as good a place as any to start.

What Is the Cartier Tank Watch?

Inspired by the design of a military tank seen from above, the Tank watch was first designed in 1917 by Louis François Cartier, a distinct and bold move away from the popular round watch faces of the time. Instead, this delicate and linear shape references the feat of engineering behind the Renault tanks, mimicking the treads and cockpit of the vehicle's cabin.

Since its original design, you can now shop the Tank Must and Français, chunkier, metal-based styles, the Amércaine, which is a dressier, slimline style with a leather strap, and the newest and most pared-back style, the Tank Louis Cartier, which now also comes in rich burgundy and emerald green along with the classic colours.

Those with a real eye for engineering may also be drawn to the Cintrée and Asymétrique watches, as the exposed mechanisms (and angular shape, in the case of the Asymétrique) make these both high on the wish lists of watch aficionados.

How Much Does a Cartier Tank Watch Cost?

Given the level of design and craft that goes into Cartier watches, the Tank doesn't come cheap.

You can expect to find prices for the Cartier Tank watch ranging from just over £3000 for the more demure Tank Must styles to over £109,000 for the rarer Tank Cintrée watches, coming down to around £51,000 for the diamond-encrusted Tank Américaine.

Where Can I Buy a Cartier Tank Watch?

You can find the Tank watch in Cartier stores and online, as well as in a handful of other jewellers and fine jewellery retailers like Goldsmiths, NET-A-PORTER, Harrods, Selfridges and Watches of Switzerland.

To see and shop our edit of the best Cartier Tank watches, keep scrolling. After all, these chic timepieces come with a very fashionable (and royal) stamp of approval.

Shop the Cartier Tank Watch: