Cartier Introduces the Tank Américaine in Stainless Steel (with Specs, Prices) Replica Watches Essentials

The Cartier Tank Solo XL Automatic view was introduced in 2012 and added a larger, mechanical alternative to the quartz Tank Solo. The Cartier Tank Solo XL Automatic originally featured the automatic Cartier 049 calibre, which is an ETA 2892. But, Cartier has confirmed with us that when the Cartier Clé introduced the in-house 1847 MC motion in 2015 a lot of fundamental models were quietly fitted using the new motion – like the Cartier Tank Solo XL Automatic. The 1847 MC motion is apparently positioned as a workhorse to take the place of ETA moves found in a variety of Cartier collections, and with a diameter of 25.6mm, it will fit about anywhere an ETA 2992 or 2824 would. Bidirectional automatic winding, 42 hours of power reserve, working at 4Hz with fundamental seconds and date are all welcome contemporary features and appropriate to an entry level collection. The Cartier 1847 MC seems to largely receive only basic decoration, but you won’t find it anyhow due to the good caseback of this Cartier Tank Solo XL Automatic. An in-house motion should add value and interest for enthusiasts, and more so because the change out of a sourced movement was not accompanied by a shift in price.Standard to get a modern luxury watch, antireflective sapphire crystal protects the dial, and the crown with its synthetic spinel cabochon is basically unchanged from the first Tanks. The dial is what Cartier requires silvered opaline, and it provides a satiny background for its black Cartier Roman numerals without any shiny reflections to hamper legibility.

Introduced in 1989 as a modern take on the elegantly curved Tank Cintree, the Tank Américaine has been a mainstay of the Cartier line-up since but not been available in steel, until now. The trio of new models in steel all carry the classic Tank Américaine look, but at a much more affordable price.

Available in three sizes that are identical except for dimensions, the steel Tank Américaine features all the classic Cartier design elements. The silver dial with a smooth, brushed finish has Roman numerals and a railway minute track, along with blued steel hands matched with a blue synthetic sapphire cabochon on the crown.

Unlike earlier generations of Tank Américaine, the large and medium models are time-only, lacking a date display. An omission that traditionalists will welcome, the date-less style is clean and functional.

From left: large, medium and small

The Tank Américaine large model measures 26.6mm wide, 45.1mm long, and 9.65mm high, making it sizeable for a rectangular watch. It’s equipped with an automatic ETA movement.

The medium model is 22.6mm wide, 41.6mm long and 9.65mm high, and similarly powered by an automatic ETA movement.

And the small model is 19mm by 34.8mm, standing 7.1mm high, a compact size possible thanks to the quartz movement inside.

Price and availability 

The Tank Americaine LM large in steel (ref. WSTA0018) is priced at US$5750 or S$7900. The Tank Americaine MM medium (ref. WSTA0017) is US$5100 or S$7050, and the Tank Americaine SM small (ref. WSTA0016) is US$4000 or S$5500.

They are available at Cartier boutiques and authorised retailers.

Correction September 9, 2017: The retail prices for the small and medium models published earlier were incorrect, they are US$4000 and US$5100 respectively.