The Cartier Tank was introduced commercially in 1919, and in the 15 or so years following the launch of the original Tank Normale, virtually every major variation debuted, under the direction of Louis Cartier. The various models – the Allongée, the Cintrée, the Basculante, and many others – were a burst of creative energy with few if any parallels in the history of the wristwatch. The first variant on the Normale was the Cintrée, in 1921, with its distinctive curved case (“Cintrée means “curved”) which gave the elongated design both tremendous presence, and also made it, despite the dimensions, extremely comfortable to wear.

For the 100th anniversary of the Tank Cintrée, Cartier has introduced a new limited edition Cintrée which, while not an exact reproduction of any particular vintage model, captures very exactly all the elegance and charm of many classic vintage models. The precision with which the 100th Anniversary model captures the charm of the original design of 1921 is hard to overstate – the touchpoints amount to what, to the uninitiated, may seem like minor points, but together, they make magic.

As with all Tank models, it’s very difficult to generalize about the Cintrée other than in terms of basics – Tank watches were, for many decades, not usually held in stock in Cartier boutiques, but made to order, and often to some degree were therefore unique pieces.