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THE LAUNCH OF THE NEW LC TANK XL EXTRA FLAT
June will be the month of the International launch of the new Tank Anglaise and…..
the new LC Tank XL. Both models can be seen in the Boutiques around the 22nd. of June. We did a small article about the pre-launch of he 'Tank Anglaise' in London last month, that you can find HERE, and an introduction article about the Tank Anglaise that you can find HERE, so let's go a bit further into detail about the LC Tank, this time. For many Cartier owners, the LC Tank is the Tank to wear or at least to have, next to a Santos or Tortue. The watch is in the collection since 1919 and we have seen quite a couple of different sizes and calibers, over the years. There are and there have been quartz models available, but the watch has been in the catalogue as a mechanical Tank, almost constantly, may be not always easy to get, but it was available. Without going too far in history, the LC Tank was also available in 1976 as a 'Must the Cartier Tank'. This was at the time the watch industry was not doing well and had a hard time fighting counterfeiters; 
- Must de Cartier Tank from 1979 - Cartier launched affordable Tanks, with a silver vermeil case (gold plating over silver) and a mechanical ETA caliber, (quartz versions were available too) The mens size of the watch with case dimensions of 22mm x 28mm, was fairly small but together with the smaller ladies version, bit became a huge success. Every year new dial versions were released, from plain black, blue or red, to classic dials with the famous roman numbers and always with the script logo 'must de Cartier', instead of 'CARTIER' in capitols. Cartier sold about 120.000 of these 'Must Tanks' a year. The whole Must de Cartier concept, that we will describe in a later article, was initiated by Alain Dominique Perrin and was an immense success. Then until 1998, the LC Tank was still available too, in yellow gold or in platinum, in the 33.5 x 25.5mm case with the famous 021MC caliber, a very flat reworked Frederic Piguet movement. 
- The classic sized LC Tank in 33.5x25.5mm case, here in platinum - This size LC Tank was for decades about the standard size for a men's rectangle watch. In 1998 the LC Tank was relaunched in the CPCP series, with a different dial, but same dimensions and movement and was available until around 2006. The production was very low and these watches are now impossible to find. In 2006 The LC Tank XL was released, with a large 30 x 39.2mm case in pink gold or in platinum. Mechanical 9701 MC caliber by Piaget and a glass back. This model was available until 2008 when the CPCP series came to an end, a total of less than 300 pieces were made. In 2007 the LC Tank XL with two time zones was released with the same large 30 x 39.2mm case, in pink- or white gold and mechanical 9901 MC caliber, based on a Piaget 430MC caliber. 
In 2008 The LC Tank with Time and calendar became available, in the CPCP series, for a very short period. Same case dimensions of 30 x 39.2mm and the mechanical 9902 MC 'In House' caliber. The LC Tank with Power Reserve and Date window was released in 2011 and is currently still available in the Boutiques and at AD's. Two different versions are available. 
- LC Tank XL with date & power reserve window - The dial is very interesting with the power reserve and date window, not as pure as the 'time only' Tanks, but cool to look at, especially the version with the chocolate dial and gold hands. Case dimensions of 30 x 39.2mm and 9753MC mechanical 'In House' caliber. This month we will finally see the new X-tra flat version of the LC Tank in the Boutiques. For those who missed the CPCP version of the LC Tank XL, don't regret, this watch is certainly as nice. It has a firm case size of 34.9 x 40.4mm and contains the ultra flat mechanical Piaget based caliber 430MC. But there is more; in contrary to the many guilloche dial we have seen in previous collections, the new Tank now has a cool plain silvered grained dial, which gives it a nice vintage look. Quite a difference! 
And again in contrary to the previous LC Tanks, the case is much flatter and is with 5.1mm currently the slimmest watch in Cartier's entire catalogue! To show the difference in thickness I photographed both watches, but unfortunately not at the same time, so two different pictures, but I am sure it's clear how slim the new version of the LC Tank XL really is, when compared with the previous CPCP version. 
- Side view of the new X-tra flat LC Tank XL - 
- Side view of the previous CPCP LC Tank XL - Cartier decided to give this new Tank a closed back, since a glass back would make the case more thick. 
Some may regret that the movement is not visible now, but in my honest opinion, I find the thickness of the case more important and that closed back with the eight screws, looks really good and fits perfectly in the whole Tank concept. This new LC Tank XL is the ultra chic Tank that matches any outfit perfectly, from a business meeting outfit to a pair of chino's with a button down shirt on Saturday. And that's something we can't say about every watch. I was happy to learn that Cartier decided to launch the LC Tank XL with a normal pin buckle, instead of the much more expensive folding buckle, that can still be an option later on. 
- Diamond version of the new Xtra flat LC Tank XL in white gold... - 
- or in yellow gold - The diamond versions do look very smart too. On round cases I am usually not thát fond of diamonds on a mens watch, since it reminds me a bit of a cocktail glass with sugar on the edge, but these straight lines on the side of the case, give it a very clean and Art Deco look. Cartier is also about to release a new book on the 'Tank Watch' and again of course written by expert Mr Franco Cologni, who has written many books about Cartier watches and who was also responsible for the first book on the Tank that appeared 14 years ago. 
Cartier 'The Tank Watch book' will officially be available from Amazone in September; the Boutiques may have it earlier and YES it's indeed the 'LC Tank XL Extra flat' that's featured on the cover. GEO CARTIER forum moderator ----------------------------------------------------- [www.troisanneaux.com] Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/14/2012 11:35AM by Martin Green.
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