Cartier Tank Louis 78086 ‘Paris Dial’ from 1978 in 18k yellow gold

Brand history:
Cartier was founded in 1847 in Paris, by Louis-François Cartier when he continued with his master’s (Adolphe Picard) workshop by himself. 27 years later, in 1874, the son of Louis-François Cartier (Alfred Cartier) took over the company. The iconic worldwide iconic status of the Cartier brand however weren’t established by the Cartier company directors Louis-François- or later, Alfred Cartier. It were the three sons of Alfred Cartier (Louis-, Pierre- and Jacques Cartier), who made Cartier a world renowned jewellery and watch brand.

Alberto Santos Dumont, a pioneer aviator from Brazil complained to his friend Louis Cartier in 1904, he had trouble reading the time from a pocket watch while flying and testing airplanes. Therefor, Louis Cartier designed a thin wristwatch with a distinctive rectangular design featuring a manual wind movement. Alberto Santos Dumont preferred this watch above many other watches in that era, together with a clientele who followed in his opinion. The watch therefor was named after the ‘first-wearer’, ‘Santos Dumont’. This was Cartier first wristwatch, which still is in production today in many different sizes and variaties. This series of events could be seen as the start of the iconic Cartier identity, as the spirit of this first ‘Santos Dumont’ wristwatch can be seen in many other watches of the brand that followed, such as the Cartier Tank, Cartier Panthère and the Cartier Crash.

Product information:
This exquisite and elegant, manually wound Cartier Tank ‘Paris Dial’ features the distinctive Cartier design elements, such as the 18k yellow gold rectangular case, a Roman numeral dial with a ‘railroad’ minute track, and the cabochon sapphire in the crown of the watch. The details of this crown refer – and pay tribute to the legacy of the Cartier jewellery, which are world renowned for their designs, quality and iconic status. This watch being from 1978, the condition emphasizes the originality of this Cartier Tank watch. Attached to this watch is a brand new and unworn Cartier strap in burgundy red, which are made from the finest leather and is finished to the highest standarts. The icing on the cake is the iconic Cartier buckle which creates a unique wrist presence while wearing this watch.

The elegantly shaped case of the watch measures 23.5 x 30.5 mm excluding the winding crown. This is the larger sized Cartier Tank size, which makes it therefor very wearable for both gentlemen and elegant women. The movement is a manually wound example which keeps time very well.

Additional note:
Every watch is sold with our own Collection Extract. The Collection Extract is an official document we add to your watch order. This certificate, or ‘extract’, states the details of the specific watch. Details as the serial number, materials used and production date are present on this document. In addition, your personal details are added to the Collection Extract, to ensure your watch belongs to you. Of course, all our watches are also delivered with an invoice and insured priority shipping.