Cartier’s simple, unchanging designs are unique in watchmaking, despite being made up of classical elements like Breguet hands and Roman numerals.
The Cartier Tank Cintrée Replica is an eminently wearable watch that is wonderfully elegant on the wrist. It just wears well.
And the Cintrée is also an important design. Though it was not the first Tank design, the Cintrée – the word is French for “curved” – is perhaps the quintessential case shape.
With a colour in mind, the rest of the Luxury Cartier Replica dial had to be pinned down. The first step was the dial design – the obvious candidates were the dial found on the 2018 model and the earlier version with Arabic numerals.
And then came the colours, both for the dial and the markings. Mr Goldberger’s suggestion was a grey that resembled a slightly faded black dial, and at the same time I wanted something that would only reveal its colour up close.
So the choice was a dark grey with a radially-brushed surface – a surprisingly unusual finish for the Cheap Tank Cintrée Replica – instead of the usual fine graining or less common guilloche.