Cartier Tank Francaise – W51028Q3

At some point in her life every woman needs to hear those three little words: Cartier Tank Francaise. Simple, elegant and timeless, the W51028Q3 is a classic dress watch. The combination of Mother of Pearl dial and polished stainless steel case and bracelet make it a thing of beauty you can actually wear rather than just a formal dress watch that rarely sees the light of day. It can serve as both.
The 25 mm case size might make it sound a tad too delicate. It's not. The Cartier Tank Francaise W51028Q3 is a ladies watch with wrist presence. Not in a shouty way. That's not Cartier. They don't need to yell. They make high-end vintage-inspired contemporary watches. The notion of heritage with the benefits of modern technology and watchmaking methods or to put it bluntly: the best of both worlds.
The chain-link bracelet is the feature that gives the W51028Q3 a little aesthetic weight. It's also the element used to adapt the Tank wristwatch – first presented in 1917 – and bring it in line with the tastes of a more modern audience. That and the slightly curved case, which segues into the bracelet giving the whole watch a clean and seamless look.
Like all grand dames, the Cartier Tank has a great origins story. Louis Cartier was inspired to design it after seeing Renault FT-17 tanks on the Western Front during the First World War. The rectilinear design and proportions of the first six watches produced echoed those of the Renault tanks. They had vertical branchards and sword-shaped hands. The Tank stood out in a period dominated by Art Nouveau design principles.
The Tank is and always has been, androgynous. It has been worn by some of the most iconic women and men of the 20th Century, including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Harry Truman, JFK, Yves Saint Laurent and Princess Diana. When she died, the teenaged Prince William selected his mother's Cartier Tank Francaise as a cherished memento of his mother. Angelina Jolie is a big fan. The Tank has been subject to no less than six variations over the past century, including the Tank Anglaise and the elongated Tank Americaine.
The pink pearlescent dial draws the eye. It's a subtle, soft pink that is prevented from being too ethereal by bold Roman numeral hour markers that make you think of Parisian boulevards. Even if the original design was based on a mighty war machine. All that might sound rather dramatic or whimsical but this is a Cartier luxury watch. The brand is synonymous with images of a romantic Parisian lifestyle. So forgive me the odd flight of fancy. I can't quite help thinking of what it would be like to wear the Cartier Tank Francaise for a stroll along the Seine at dusk.
The dial is protected by sapphire crystal and bears blue steel sword-shaped hands. Over to the right on the case you'll find an octagonal crown with a synthetic pink cabochon spinel crystal. It's fun, pretty and a tad flirty. A nice touch that provides a little extra interest but keeps the whole watch firmly on the chic side.
But I digress. It's powered by a quartz movement. Cartier Calibre 057 to be exact. Now, before you scoff at that consider this: quartz movements might not carry the cachet of those developed and produced in secret at Rolex production HQ or the wild complications of Richard Mille but they are accurate and particularly adept at passing the test of time. The watch is water resistant to 30 m.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the Cartier Tank is its longevity. It may have been reimagined several times but in truth, not an awful lot has changed in 100 years . Why mess with perfection?
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Image Credit – Officialwatches.com vedere di piu rolex svizzera e Breitling Transocean