When the marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles (currently King of Britain) began to collapse, the princess stopped wearing the gold “Patek Philippe” watch, which her husband had given her on her twentieth birthday, and began wearing instead the classic “Cartier Tank Louis” watch that contains Belt made of crocodile leather.
Although she owned many watches, Diana preferred this classic, streamlined watch, which matched her emerging independent spirit, and which was given to her by her father, Earl Edward John Spencer.
The “Cartier Tank Louis” was not the only “Tank” watch that the late British princess owned, as on official occasions, she always wore the gold “Cartier Tank Francaise” watch, which her two sons inherited after her death, and it is the watch that Prince Harry presented to his wife, Meghan Markle. , upon their engagement, and it seems that Megan also cares about this watch very much, as she was seen wearing it on many occasions.
With their simple, unadorned design, Cartier Tank watches have been coveted by a variety of tastemakers, from Duke Ellington and Yves Saint Laurent, to Liz Taylor and Madonna, for more than a century, seeing them as the perfect balance between form and function. .
How did Louis Cartier create the classic Tank watch?
The Cartier Tank may be a classic now, but it was considered a different and wonderful design when it was unveiled in 1917. It was created by Louis Cartier during World War I, while he was living in the Ritz Paris Hotel on Place Vendôme, after he was refused service in the armed forces due to… Previous injuries, while his two brothers: Pierre and Jacques, were affiliated with the service.
Lewis drew four lines forming a square with two sides extended like a stretcher, with a belt attached between them. The story goes that he was influenced by the first appearance of armored tanks during the war, as they were designed to look like an overhead view of the tank. As for the rectangular sides of the watch face: It is intended to mimic a tank’s track, while the disc represents the cockpit, hence its name.
The elegant rectangular lines of the Cartier Tank defined a new aesthetic in watchmaking, and would change its future. According to reports, the first watch was designed for men and was delivered to General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe. Since then, the original “Tank” design, also known as the “Tank Normal”, has undergone several developments over the years.
Who is Louis Cartier?
Louis Cartier was known for designing expensive and elegant watches, as he was a French watchmaker and businessman, and is credited with spreading wristwatches instead of traditional pocket watches.
Cartier had designed the first wristwatch, at the request of his Brazilian friend Alberto Santos Dumont, a pioneer in the field of aviation. The latter wanted him to design a watch for him to use during his travels, because pocket watches were not suitable for those conditions. At that time, Cartier made him a “wristwatch.” Santos, which became the first men’s wristwatch.
