Watches And Wonders 2025: Cartier’s Tank à Guichets Returns
4 min read
Few watches in horological history command instant recognition and enduring admiration quite like the Cartier Tank. Its lineage stretches back over a century, evolving with time yet never losing the essence of Louis Cartier’s original vision—a watch that transcends function to become an icon of design.
At Watches And Wonders 2025, Cartier Privé once again opens the doors to its most exclusive creations, unveiling the new Tank à Guichets. This is not just another reissue; it is a reverent reinvention of one of Cartier’s boldest and most enigmatic designs, one that defied convention when it debuted in 1928 and continues to do so today.
A Watch Unlike Any Other: The Birth of the Tank à Guichets
By the late 1920s, modernity was accelerating. The world was moving faster—trains, automobiles, and aviation were no longer novelties but necessities. With this shift came a new relationship with time: it needed to be read instantly, efficiently, and without distraction.
It was in this context that Louis Cartier took a radical departure from the conventional watch face. Instead of hands sweeping across a dial, the Tank à Guichets displayed time digitally, with jumping hours and dragging minutes revealed through two apertures on a solid metal case. The absence of a traditional dial was a revolutionary act of minimalism, decades ahead of its time.
Between the 1930s and early 2000s, Cartier revisited this concept sparingly, always in limited quantities, always as an exercise in design purity. In 1997, a platinum edition marked Cartier’s 150th anniversary, while in 2005, a rose gold version emerged under the Collection Privée Cartier Paris (CPCP) series, each release reaffirming the Tank à Guichets as a cult collector’s piece.
Cartier Privé 2025: A Contemporary Masterpiece with Vintage Soul
With its 2025 release, Cartier Privé breathes new life into this legacy, crafting a watch that remains faithful to its roots while embracing modern refinement. The new Tank à Guichets is powered by the hand-wound 9755 MC calibre, specially developed for this release, featuring jumping hours and dragging minutes, just as in the original.
Visually, the watch is an exercise in contrasts—a brushed metal central face framed by polished brancards, the interplay of textures enhancing the watch’s sculptural beauty. The crown remains at 12 o’clock, another nod to the original design.
Cartier offers two distinct design variations, each with its own character:
The Traditional Revival – A faithful reinterpretation of the 1928 model, featuring the hour aperture at 12 o’clock and the minute aperture at 6 o’clock, available in yellow gold, rose gold, or platinum. These versions stay true to the first Tank à Guichets, maintaining its signature symmetry and understated elegance.
The Avant-Garde Interpretation – A platinum model in a limited edition of 200 pieces, featuring the apertures set at an angle (10 o’clock for hours, 4 o’clock for minutes), a design cue inspired by the 1930s. This asymmetrical execution adds an element of intrigue, embracing Cartier’s long-standing tradition of playing with form and function.
Each piece is paired with an alligator leather strap in deep, rich tones—burgundy for the platinum model, green for yellow gold, dark grey for rose gold—each chosen to accentuate the watch’s personality.
A Legacy of Reinvention
Cartier has always understood that a true icon is not simply preserved but continually reinterpreted. The Tank à Guichets is not a watch for the masses—it is a watch for those who appreciate the essence of Cartier’s creative daring.
By eliminating numerals and hands, the Tank à Guichets distills timekeeping to its purest form, offering a display that is both mechanical and theatrical—each hour jumping into place like the changing numbers on an old-fashioned train station board. It is a watch that forces you to engage with time differently, to slow down and savor its passing.
For Cartier Privé collectors, this release will be one of the most significant of the year. For watch enthusiasts, it is a reminder that true innovation does not always mean adding complexity—sometimes, it means removing everything unnecessary.
The Return of a Collector’s Grail
In an era when digital displays are ubiquitous, the Tank à Guichets remains refreshingly analog, a reminder of a time when craftsmanship and design were the ultimate luxuries. Its reappearance at Watches And Wonders 2025 is more than just a new launch; it is a continuation of Cartier’s legacy of avant-garde watchmaking, a tribute to its past, and a testament to its future.
