144 Cartier An elegant and charming Cartier Tank à Guichet in platinum with unusual jumping hours

Estimate: €19,000 –⁠ 40,000

Model: Tank À Guichet
Material: platinium
Reference N°: A114445
Year: 1997
Case N°: 068/150
Caliber: 7
Movement N°: 7001
Bracelet: leather strap
Dimensions: 25,5 mm x 37,5mm

The “jumping hour” complication gained enormous popularity at the turn of the ’20s and ’30s of the ’900, for its simple and effective design able to reflect the period of crisis and economic difficulty. It was in this climate that Cartier, always careful to people’s wishes and needs, decided to present the first model of Tank à Guichet, inspired by the most iconic model he had ever created, the Tank. Its style was essential with a rigid case and two small windows, in French Guichet which just gives the name to the clock, able to show the hour and minutes. The lot offered here is a limited edition created in 1997 for the 150th anniversary of Cartier. Precisely for this reason only 150 copies were made, which makes this watch, the number 68, a highly rare and desirable piece. Inside this slab of platinum in great overall conditions, the two guichets stand out at 12 and 6 o’clock while the ruby cabochon at 3 ’clock is the only element to break this linearity and simplicity; all the stamps are clearly visible and on the caseback there are the letters L and C interspersed with a heart with the date of the anniversary. For romantic and lovers of minimalism and the dictates of the architect Mies van der Rohe, this is a piece that cannot to be missed. For another similar model please also sees lot n° 185 in this auction.