Cartier Tank Reverso

If you’ve been around here for a bit, you’ll my stance on the world’s first true automatic chronograph: all of the three. I call it convergent evolution in watchmaking. This is not that. This is something more akin to Cartier looking over their metaphorical shoulder at JLC’s exam answer bubbles. Despite that, this is still a very attractive, classic, mechanical, and Tank-adjacent vintage Cartier. In this scenario, I don’t blame Cartier. Market forces have a way of forcing similar designs. The same could be said of Instagram’s 5711 tastes today. I know which generation’s tastes I’d prefer on my wrist right now.

Whilst I wouldn’t normally feature a 70s Tank (I usually prefer Cartier’s 90s CPCP efforts), I just love the bizarre effect a flippable Tank is having on me. The silhouette seems so familiar at first glance, then very foreign upon examination. Its lugs and over-square shape are not classic. The rest is. Its mechanical caliber 610 was shared across many period references. But no other references could be reversed for a game of polo. Or, more appropriately for me, a drunk night out.

The case here sports the kind of wear one would expect from a fifty year old soft gold alloy. Its dial, handset, and crown are all beautifully preserved, however. The movement and case rotation mechanism all function beatifully. It comes without a box or papers from a well-regarded retailer.

Find this Tank Reverso here from S. Song for 12000 USD.