Cartier Tank Black Dial on Leather

The Must de Cartier Tank arrived in the 1970s as Cartier's answer to a broader audience — same architectural DNA as the original 1917 Tank, scaled and priced to reach beyond the maison's traditional clientele. What it preserved was the thing that mattered: the case construction, with its brancards (the vertical rails that integrate case and bracelet into a single visual line), the Roman numeral dial, the cabochon crown. The 20.5 x 28mm silver case houses a manual-winding movement, a caliber that rewards the daily ritual of winding and keeps the profile slim enough to disappear beneath a cuff.

The onyx dial is the reason this example stands apart. Cartier produced the Must de Cartier in far greater numbers with cream or white lacquer dials; the black onyx versions were made in smaller runs and are considerably harder to find in any condition. Against the silver case, the onyx reads with a depth that a photograph simply cannot carry — it shifts between near-black and a warm, mineral darkness depending on the light. The sapphire cabochon crown and sapphire crystal complete a piece that remains entirely original.

Offered in very good condition, watch only.