The Cartier Privé collection highlights the design of the Maison’s legendary watches. Since 2015, Cartier Privé has been releasing variations in limited and numbered series. Following the Crash watch, the Tank Cintrée and the Tonneau watch — the first models to be reinterpreted by the Cartier watchmaking design studio— it is the Tank Asymétrique’s turn to enter the exclusive circle of this connoisseurs’ club.
The Tank was Louis Cartier’s bright idea to give a watch the shape of a rectangle in 1917, at a time when timepieces were round. From 1917 to 1936, it saw multiple incarnations. When it appeared in 1936, the Tank Asymétrique watch —also known at the time as the Parallélogramme or Losange— marked a break with tradition: unlike any other watch, it questioned the established order of things.
Everything on the dial was shifted 30 degrees to the right. The rectangle of the original Tank became a diamond, with the 12 placed in the upper right-hand corner of the case and the 6 opposite. Instead of Roman numerals, Arabic numerals —and only the even digits— appeared, all separated by indexes. The torsion effect was such that a specific strap needed to be developed for the watch.
Cartier Tank Asymétrique from 1936
In addition, certain models saw the axis of symmetry in the center of the watch replaced by a special insert. This detail, which had nothing to do with aesthetics, was unique to the watch, making it highly rare today. With its two horizontal shafts connected by two oblique ones, and its numerals off-set by 30 degrees to the right, the presence of this new Tank Asymétrique on the wrist is striking.
In its refined volume, Cartier watchmakers have included the Manufacture 1917 MC movement, a noble movement due to the beauty of the manual winding gesture. Paired with a case measuring 47.15 mm x 26.2 mm x 6.38 mm, the watch is available in pink gold with a grey dial and strap, in yellow gold with a champagne dial and brown strap, and in platinum with a silver-colored dial, ruby cabochon, and grey strap. On the dial, the Arabic numerals and their separating indexes have been completely redesigned. The made-to-measure straps are fitted with an ardillon buckle. Each of these three different models comes in a limited edition of 100 numbered pieces.
Sticker Price $30,100 USD for platinum and $26,400 USD for pink and yellow gold. For more info on Cartier click here.
