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Louis Cartier, obsessed with design, has always been thriving in the genre of creating revolutionary and influential styles. Cartier, founded in 1847 in Paris, started making watches in the beginning of the 20th century. During World War I Cartier was ordered to design and produce watches for the French army. Inspired by the French Renault tanks, Louis Cartier designed the Cartier Tank. Its design was (and still is!) remarkable and broke free from the traditional designs of that era. Furthermore, the squared shape, the large Roman numerals and the elegant leather strap have proved to be resilient as the watch’s design has not been altered since its introduction. In 1917, the watch was presented as a gift to General Pershing and the model was worn by French soldiers. After soldiers returned from the battlefront they were allowed to take their watches home and because of that the Cartier Tank was quickly seen as a symbol of courage. Cartier responded in a clever way; in 1919, they brought the Tank to the market, so men, who didn’t go to the front, could pretend to be a hero and impress the ladies as well. In 1989, Cartier introduced a curved and elongated version of the Tank specially for the US market. The beautiful automatic wrist watch we have on offer dates back to the beginning of 2000. The large 18k rose-gold case is well-proportioned and wears very elegant thanks to its curved design. It almost feels like it hugs your wrist. The dial of this example, which is protected by a sapphire crystal, is typically Cartier; white with large, black Roman numerals and blued-steel hands. A little extra: it has a date aperture above the 6-hour position.