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PROTAGONIST / PERFECT GEOMETRY

(the halcyon days of the L.C. or the Cintrée with folding clasp). ni... Tank fans tended to be eminent personages. And they con-
In its intentions (think, for example, of the London Cartier sea- tinue to be. The latest? Michelle Obama, fuelling the legend
son, characterized by daring homages to Dali’s art, we are refer- that it is an iconic object of timeless style. Because sporting this
ring to the Crash), in the different ideas that have emerged in the geometric perfection of time and design on one’s wrist has be-
various Cartier locations (New York, Paris, London): always fitting, come synonymous with elegance, social status and cultural pres-
always new, and always perfect. tige. Consider this statement by the French maestro of sculp-
ture, César: “I love wearing my Tank. I would feel
ary Cooper, Clark Gable, Truman Ca- } The list of actors naked without it. This watch has a physical, sensu-
pote, Cary Grant, Noël Coward, Duke and famous people al, and above all, a tactile dimension. I constantly
GEllington (with his Tank à guichets, on fiddle with it, caressing it, without even looking at
the cusp between the world of cars and that of the world over it. I look at it with my fingers.” The key to under-
jewellery), Fred Astaire (who wore a customized who have succumbed standing this watch is precisely that it forces you to
Cintrée with luminescent Arabic numerals and to the charms of think about what it means to have one and make
eccentric graphics), Andy Warhol (who never the Tank is very long it your own. “Tank has managed to remain true to
wound it: “I certainly don’t wear it to know what itself, while transforming,” wrote Franco Cologni,
time it is,”), Yves Montand (who was given one the greatest historian of this watch. “Or rather, it
by Simone Signoret), Alain Delon, Ingrid Bergman, Catherine is precisely because it has managed to adapt to the spirit of the
Deneuve, the Kennedys, Yves Saint Laurent (owner of a lavish times and evolve before the others that the Tank has established
L.C.), Lady Diana (after her death it was inherited by prince Wil- itself as an expression of an ability to act, and above all to think.”
liam), Muhammad Ali (who bought his in Puerto Rico in 1976 No small feat for a watch. To be expected for a great watch. The
when he was training for a world title fight), Marcello Mastroian- obvious one for an icon of our times; past, present and future.

Above, left, Tank Large Curved JJC in gold, with sapphire on the winding crown, leather strap, Cartier London, 1973. Right, Catherine Deneuve
portrayed in 1984, wearing a Tank. Adjoining page, the model presented by Cartier to celebrate 100 years of Tank:
Tank Cintrée skeleton, in platinum. With self-winding mechanical movement, calibre 9917 MC. The edition is limited to 100 watches (cartier.com).

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