Teddy Baldassarre
Cartier Tank a Guichets Review: A Quirky Art Deco Classic Returns
Usually, when we think of Cartier, our thoughts turn to classical luxury and elegance rather than military-style minimalism. However, the world-famous maison and “jeweler of kings” has long dabbled in both worlds, at least when it comes to watchmaking. And there is no better example of a timepiece that embodies that ethos than the rather unexpected headliner of Cartier’s new releases at the 2025 Watches & Wonders salon: the Cartier Privé Tank à Guichets. The Tank à Guichets, of course, is an evolution of the original Cartier Tank watch, which is itself a historical example of a modern luxury item with clearly military inspiration (it’s right there in the name, actually). Throughout its prestigious history since being unveiled in 1917 by its inventor, Louis Cartier, the Tank has evolved in ways that are both subtle and revolutionary and has appeared in forms of which many of us might not even be aware. Some of these more exotic and unusual Tank pieces have found their way back into the main collection in recent years as part of the Cartier Privé series, and it is from this series that the new Guichets, in its three distinctive iterations, does indeed hail. The Original Cartier Tank But let’s start off by establishing where this watch’s design legacy began. The classic, original Cartier Tank, which didn’t actually go into serial production until 1919, derived its name and its rectangular, curvilinear case shape from the World War I-era Renault FT-17 t...
