Hands-On: The Cartier Tank Américaine Now Comes In Yellow Gold
Earlier this year, Cartier released the Tank Mini Louis Cartier. Gloriously posted across Instagram on petite wrists, as well as larger, hairier ones, the Mini was the toast of the fair. Turns out the Mini LC has an older cousin: The Tank Américaine mini, newly released in yellow gold along with its small and large counterparts. So, I decided to go Hands-On with a small and a mini for a more straightforward comparison.
The Tank Américaine was first released in 1989 and was launched to fulfill the modern demand for larger watches. It was yellow gold and featured a curved case inspired by the Tank Cintrée, but it was more compact and stockier in dimension. Since then, the Américaine has been made in many different versions, with date functions and chronographs, among other complications. Last year, Cartier updated the Tank Américaine line with very slight but noticeable aesthetic changes. They released the new batches in stainless steel and rose gold with some diamond and bracelet variants. The Américaine became a little thinner, a little slimmer, and a little sleeker, which brings the Américaine just a little bit closer to its Cintrée forefather.
Today, enthusiast circles are obsessed with small watches. Those same circles can also be found worshiping at the altar of the jumbo Cintrée. So, I can understand why Cartier would repeat its history for its newest specs. Gone is the medium Américaine (that we took for a spin in A Week On The Wrist in 2017). We are now left with a large at 44.4 x 24.4, similar to the vintage jumbo Cintrée (nine lignes); a small at 35.4 x19.4, similar to the dimensions of mid-sized vintage Cintrée (eight lignes); and a mini that’s 28 x 15.2, which is close in proportion to the vintage “ladies'” Cintrée.
The new yellow Américaine case has the same brushed sides and polished rails, which give the edges a starker definition. The case still looks architectural, even in the small and mini sizes. It’s smooth like a Mies van der Rohe Flat Bar Brno chair. The reverse of the case has a curved caseback, which is not quite in line with the dramatically curved caseback of the Cintrée, but the result is a watch that still appears curved while being technically easier to manufacture.
The dials on both mini and small are pretty simple. Both come with a silver and vertical satin finish and, as with all Américaines, the chapter ring is curved on the ends to echo the curvature of the case, leaving a lot more negative space on the dial and making the Roman numerals really stand out. Like the Santos De Cartier and Tank Française and post-1950s Cintrées, the octagonal sapphire crown is flat and faceted. The small and mini models are both quartz-powered and water resistant to 30 meters.
Back to small-watch talk (which is pervasive). At times, I feel that we are living under a one-size-fits-all regime. And I feel a weighted pressure to keep all personal preferences to myself. “That small watch looks great on you… and me… and every person in this room that has tried it on,” I say through an obviously fake toothy grin. Because thou shalt not condemn a watch enthusiast’s right to choose!
In moments like these, where the collective innate sense of what looks good has evaporated into the political ether, we must turn to brands like Cartier for the solution. They present us with an Américaine in three sizes, all of which are pretty much identical aesthetically (bar the obvious case dimensions). A choice between large, small, and mini is the 2024 equivalent of democracy in the watch space. While watch sizing and minis are a buzzy topic today, Cartier has been offering different sizes of its watches for almost 100 years. And we don’t really know if the smallest of any model was technically “for women.”
To be clear, I am and will always maintain that any individual can wear whatever they like. Just please don’t impose your small watch agenda on me. I can get there on my own… if I so choose. And I did, with the yellow gold Tank Américaine mini (and its cousin, the Mini LC back at Watches & Wonders).
I can’t say I was ever a Tank Américaine girl until this yellow-gold release. I have always been a Cintrée girl and, well, the Américaine is for the Cintrée girl who (at this current juncture in her life) is on an Américaine budget. The small yellow gold is priced at $11,600 and the mini yellow gold at $7,750.
Outside of a vintage Normale, Chinoise, and Cintrée obsession, I have never felt much of a pull toward the more commercially available Tanks. But there is something so irresistibly (for lack of a better and less buzz-worthy term) demure about wearing one. I long to be the woman wearing a simple uniform of perfectly cut black pants and a crispy white shirt, a Tank watch poking out from underneath the cuff. Perhaps this yellow-gold Américaine is my ticket to do a maximal take on a minimal aesthetic. The Américaine is still subtle, but has more of a wrist presence with its thicker brancards. Its curves make it more unusual and sensual as the metal conforms to the curves on your wrist rather than sitting completely flat against your skin.
After some deliberation between mini and small, I just felt more spiritually aligned with the dimensions of the small. But I would take it off the crocodile strap and go for a nice, simple calf leather. And I would wear it with all my many layers and colors and piles of jewelry because minimal and mini are just not me.
The Cartier Tank Américaine will be available from end of September 2024. To find out more, click here.
Hodinkee