Cartier Tank Cintrée

The Tank that bends

Louis Cartier conceived the Tank in 1917, a flat rectangular case running between two side rails, the brancards. Within four years Cartier was already bending it. The Tank Cintrée, introduced in 1921 by most accounts (one collecting guide gives 1922), stretched the case into a long, narrow oblong and curved it to follow the wrist. Cintrée is French for 'curved.' One auction catalog describes the result as marrying the ergonomic curved profile of the tonneau with the Tank's brancards.

It was one of the first departures from the original Tank silhouette and among the hardest to build. Cartier had to print dials on a curve, with numerals stretched to match, and fit a flat movement inside a curved case. Rather than relying on hinges or friction, the Cintrée's case back is pressed into the upper case and held by small screws.

One catalog calls the Cintrée the largest and boldest variation of the Tank line. Cases from the 1920s to the 1960s were often larger than those of the uncurved models, and the watch has been made only in small numbers: one guide says it is still produced in very limited quantities, and an auction catalog says it was typically available only by special order. Cartier has reissued it several times, most recently in 2021, and one guide notes that each revival has sold out immediately.

Cartier London

Cartier had houses in Paris, New York and London. By the 1960s the London branch worked largely independently, under Jean-Jacques Cartier, who ran it from 1945 until 1974. It became known for experimentation: larger case sizes, exaggerated shapes, dials with colored numerals, and in 1967 the melted-looking Crash, which Jean-Jacques conceived with the head designer Rupert Emmerson.

London watches can be read like documents. Cases carry British assay hallmarks for 18-carat gold, including a date letter for the year of assay, and the maker's mark 'JC.' Auction catalogs differ on whose initials those are: some say Jacques Cartier, while a 2026 catalog identifies the punch as Jean-Jacques Cartier's. Movements were supplied and signed by Jaeger-LeCoultre.

A designer who worked under Jean-Jacques later described the house style as 'the absence of unnecessary twiddly bits.' The London Cintrées keep the dial spare but take the case further: catalogs describe London's appetite for larger sizes and exaggerated forms, and the 1969 watch has a particularly curved case.

The 1969 watch

The example sold in 2024 is a larger London Cintrée from the late 1960s with a particularly curved case. Its 18k yellow gold case is numbered 9'216 and measures 23 by 47 mm including the lugs, with the back secured by four screws. The case and dial are signed Cartier; the manual-wind movement, number 2'001'864, is signed Jaeger-LeCoultre.

The dial departs from the usual Cartier formula. Instead of the traditional railroad minute track, it uses oversized Roman numerals placed around the edge. The catalog noted that a similar example had been sold in Geneva in November 2021.

Other London Cintrées from the same years show how much variety the workshop allowed. One, with London hallmarks for 1970 and the 'JC' mark on case and clasp, has a dark ink-blue dial with gold numerals, measures 42.5 by 21.5 mm, and uses a Jaeger-LeCoultre caliber K840 with 18 jewels; it was described as possibly unique and had belonged to the founder of a well-known watch publication. Another, hallmarked for 1969-70, has blue numerals, a 6¼-ligne oval Jaeger-LeCoultre movement, a beaded crown set with a sapphire cabochon and a matching gold deployant buckle, and measures 20.5 by 42.5 mm.

From special order to the top of the Tank market

In May 2024, at auction in London, the circa 1969 yellow gold Cintrée sold for £240,000, reported as $304,312, against an estimate of £50,000 to £70,000. It is the second most expensive Tank on one auction house's published list of its own results.

The record on that list is also a London Cintrée: a large yellow gold example with the 'JC' mark that sold in Geneva in November 2021 for CHF 315,000, reported as $355,000. The same article dates that watch to about 1975 in one place and its catalog link to about 1960, so its date is uncertain.

The market for London Cintrées has stayed strong. On May 12, 2024, in Geneva, the possibly unique ink-blue-dial example, circa 1970, carried an estimate of CHF 70,000 to 140,000, given as $76,500 to $153,000, and sold for CHF 196,850. In 2026 the blue-numeral 1969-70 example was offered in Geneva with an estimate of CHF 30,000 to 50,000.

By comparison, a stainless steel Cartier Eight Days Tank from about 1935, believed to be unique, sold for CHF 245,700, reported as $270,000, in 2021. The curved gold London watches have outsold it.

What collectors look for

A London Cintrée should show matching numbers on case and clasp where a buckle survives, crisp British hallmarks with a date letter consistent with the dial and movement, the 'JC' maker's mark, and a signed Jaeger-LeCoultre movement. Hand-painted London dials are prone to cracking, so an intact original dial is prized.

Unusual dials are rare and sought after. A 2026 catalog calls blue numerals extremely unusual in vintage Cartier, and one guide notes that Cintrées in white metals, especially with an original bracelet, are about as collectible as Tank watches get.

The numbers

Model

Tank Cintrée

Movement

Jaeger-LeCoultre manual wind, no. 2'001'864

Case size

23 x 47 mm including lugs

Case material

18k yellow gold, case back secured by four screws

Case number

9'216

Made

Circa 1969, Cartier London

Production

Small numbers, typically by special order; no total published

Timeline

1. 1917

   Louis Cartier conceives the Tank.

2. 1921

   The Tank Cintrée is introduced (one guide says 1922).

3. 1945

   Jean-Jacques Cartier takes charge of Cartier London, which he runs until 1974.

4. 1967

   Cartier London creates the Crash watch, conceived by Jean-Jacques Cartier and Rupert Emmerson.

5. 1969

   Cartier London makes the present yellow gold Tank Cintrée, case number 9'216.

6. 1970

   A London Cintrée with an ink-blue dial is hallmarked, later described as possibly unique.

7. 1974

   Jean-Jacques Cartier's tenure at the London branch ends.

8. 2021

   Cartier releases its latest re-edition of the Tank Cintrée.

9. Nov 2021

   A large London Cintrée with the 'JC' mark sells in Geneva for CHF 315,000 (about $355,000).

10. May 12, 2024

    The ink-blue-dial London Cintrée sells in Geneva for CHF 196,850.

11. May 2024

    The circa 1969 London Cintrée sells in London for £240,000, reported as $304,312.

12. 2026

    A 1969-70 London Cintrée with blue numerals is offered in Geneva at CHF 30,000 to 50,000.

The world in 1969

• Jan 20, 1969

  Richard Nixon is sworn in as the 37th U.S. president.

• Feb 9, 1969

  The Boeing 747 flies for the first time.

• Mar 2, 1969

  Concorde makes its first test flight, in Toulouse.

• Jun 28, 1969

  The Stonewall uprising begins in New York City.

• Jul 20, 1969

  Apollo 11 lands on the Moon.

• Sep 26, 1969

  The Beatles release 'Abbey Road' in the United Kingdom.

• Oct 29, 1969

  The first message is sent over ARPANET.

Price record

A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.

By reference price, Cartier Tank Cintrée is number 16 of 100 in the watches entries of the FLOAT 100. 54 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (65 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Cintrée is simply French for 'curved.'
• Cartier London offered dials with red or blue numerals instead of black, which is extremely unusual in vintage Cartier.
• The 'JC' mark on London cases is attributed by some catalogs to Jacques Cartier and by others to Jean-Jacques Cartier.
• The 1969 Cintrée sold for more than three times its high estimate.
• One London Cintrée with an ink-blue dial was confirmed only unofficially by Cartier New York, according to its former owner's account.
• Making the Cintrée meant printing dials on a curve and fitting a flat movement into a bent case.