HOUSE LEDGER · MM-INDEX-2025-OBJ-001
INAUGURAL ADMISSION · SEASON 01 (2025)

Cartier Tank Watch

A rectangular wristwatch reduced to essentials and carried across generations by women in public life. This record covers the Tank family and its cultural use, with scope limited to design features and documented adoption. We keep it as evidence of how a precise object becomes cultural memory.

Women’s Culture Scope

Adoption. Impact. Endurance. Record.

Identifiers

Wikidata: Q5047341
House Ledger ID: MM-INDEX-2025-OBJ-001
Admission: Inaugural Class · Season 01 (2025)

Rectangular case with parallel brancards, printed Roman dial with minute track, blued hands, beaded crown with sapphire cabochon. Leather strap or metal bracelet. This entry covers Tank Normale, Louis Cartier, Cintrée, Américaine, and Française; the Santos line is outside scope.
- Year introduced: 1917 (public release 1919)
- Maker: Cartier, Paris
- Design notes: rectangular case; Roman numerals; chemin-de-fer minute track; blued hands; beaded crown with sapphire cabochon
- Materials: gold; steel; leather straps or metal bracelets
- Variants: Tank Normale; Tank Louis Cartier; Tank Cintrée; Tank Américaine; Tank Française
- Scope note: the Santos line and non-Tank models are out of scope
- 1917–1919: Early Tanks establish the grammar of the modern dress watch.
- 1989–1996: Américaine and Française broaden adoption and integrate bracelet and case.
- Ongoing: Periodic revivals and limited series sustain the code.
Museum holdings and design histories; documented wear by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Diana, Princess of Wales, and Michelle Obama; auction records confirm provenance and public interest.
House catalogues and design histories; museum accession pages for early Tanks; authoritative watch histories and dated auction records.