House Ledger · MM-INDEX-2025-OBJ-006 Inaugural Admission · Season 01 (2025)

Cartier Tank Watch — Readable Rectangular Time

What it is
A rectangle with manners: brancards for shoulders, Roman numerals, rail‑track minutes, cabochon crown, leather that slides under a cuff. Sketched in 1917, released in 1919, the Tank has stayed composed through every decade since.

Why it matters (women’s culture)
On women’s wrists—from Jackie to Diana to today’s executives—the Tank normalized serious watchmaking as part of women’s daily authority. Elegance, practical. Modern Monclaire note: “Courtesy at a glance is a form of power.”

Form

Rectangular case; Roman dial; chemin‑de‑fer minute track
Variants: Louis, Américaine, Française; mechanical/quartz movements
Slim profile for unobtrusive time‑checking

Standard

Function that flatters; design that doesn’t shout
A unisex instrument read as competence
Let engraving turn time into provenance

Provenance

Design origin: 1917; public release: 1919
Cultural wearers documented across a century; notable engravings and sales (e.g., Jackie Kennedy’s Tank, Christie’s 2017)

Weight over time
A century on, it remains worldliness shorthand in journalism and fiction; vintage values are sustained; museums collect key references.

Make it yours

Do: Wear it daily; use the dial (not your phone) in meetings—quiet reads as confidence.
Keep: Service regularly; replace straps before fray; keep box/papers together.
Share: Engrave milestones; pass it on with the story.

Where it belongs
Boardrooms, ceremonies, heirloom drawers; the wrist as archive.

Where to find