The Cartier Tank — introduced in 1917 and produced in various iterations since — is considered by collectors to be one of the most desirable and status-conferring watches in the world. Within that collection, certain limited-edition rarities stand out for their imaginative takes on the iconic design of the original model. The Cartier Tank à Vis — an exquisite example of which is being offered on 1stDibs by Steve Fishman Gallery — is one of them.
The Tank, designed by Louis Cartier, was inspired by the geometric overhead view of the French Renault FT-17 tank, used during World War I. Its design signatures include vertical sidebars, or brancards, representing the tank treads, along with a railroad minute track, cabochon crown, Roman numerals and blued-steel hands.
The watch has had more than a dozen different interpretations, including the elongated Tank Cintrée (1921), the Tank Chinoise (1922), the Tank Louis Cartier (1922), the digital Tank à Guichets (1928, reissued in 2025), the Tank Basculante (1932), the Tank Asymétrique (1936 and 1996), the Tank Américaine (1989) and the Tank Française (1996). The Tank à Vis, introduced in 2001, was one of the earliest models produced for Cartier’s CPCP collection of limited editions inspired by the house’s archival designs and aimed at collectors. The Dual Time is considered the most desirable of the three Tank à Vis watches (which also included a Time-Only and a Wandering Hours version).
The Tank à Vis was inspired by the Tank Étanche. Designed in 1931, this was a very early attempt at waterproofing (its name means “waterproof”), conceived in response to a request by the pasha of Marrakech for a watch he could wear while swimming. The Tank Étanche had a three-part design, with a gold inner case housing the movement, covered by a compressed rubber space and topped by an exterior gold case with a screw-down crown. The entire assembly was held together by screws on the bezel. These are echoed by the screws on the bezel of the Tank à Vis (vis means “screw”), which serve a design, rather than a technical, function.
This Tank à Vis has a case and bezel of 18-karat yellow gold, giving it a classic, vintage vibe. At 28mm by 32mm, it is surprisingly compact (and wearable), considering the need to accommodate the dual time complication within the movement and on the dial. In keeping with the model’s elevated status as a CPCP edition, the dial sports a guilloche pattern. The manual-wind movement is finely finished and visible through the case back.
