Investment Portfolio is a series where associate director Kristen Nichols takes an in-depth look at the best designer buys and test-drives them, from new seasonal drops to timeless heirloom items.
It’s been dubbed the world’s most iconic watch and the peak of timeless timepieces. Now, more than a century old, the Cartier Tank watch is hotter than ever. It was created by Louis Cartier in 1917, who designed it after the tanks of WWI battlefields, and the aesthetic was so ahead of its time that the 107-year-old timepiece looks just as modern today as it did the moment it was released. Despite its original debut over a century ago, the Tank watch stands out as one of the most in-demand items in the luxury fashion space in 2024. A now-iconic, classic piece that has truly transcended time.
This comes at a moment when more women are entering the watch world in a significant way. While the watch industry is traditionally male-dominated, we’ve seen women carve out a bigger presence in it both from an expert point of view and a shopping perspective. On social media, in particular, we are seeing a new wave of experts who are educating their audiences on the world of watches and inspiring a new generation of collectors. Among them are Brynn Wallner of Dimepiece, Trang Trinh of Girls O’Clock, and Malaika Crawford of Hodinkee. Their content on TikTok and Instagram is both informative and entertaining, making the watch world a fun, less intimidating place to enter. Cartier, specifically, is a leader within the growing timepiece market with searches more than doubling from 2023 to 2024, according to a report from luxury resale platform Fashionphile.
In recent seasons, we have seen a rising interest in pieces that go beyond trends across all categories, and that includes timepieces. “My biggest takeaway from 2024 is the continued importance of making conscious investments in your wardrobe,” product sourcer Gab Waller shared with Who What Wear on the state of luxury shopping in 2024. “Luxury fashion is choosing to purchase items of high quality that will sustain the test of time.” This sentiment is echoed by Erica Wright of Sourcewhere. “As luxury prices rise, people are moving beyond trends, investing in pieces with real staying power. Sourcing rare, iconic items reflects a shift from impulse buys to intentional, collectible purchases. Consumers are after pieces that go beyond a season and resonate for years.” The Cartier Tank watch stands out within this shifting market as one of the most iconic and classic timepieces, and shoppers have made it clear they are interested in purchasing this forever item. To take a closer look at the watch, I dove into its history, the celebrities and style icons who have collected it, and test-drove the timepiece myself. Ahead, more on the iconic Cartier Tank watch.
The Cartier Tank watch has a rich history tied to collectors, including celebrities and tastemakers who have been shopping and wearing the timepiece for many decades. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was given an engraved gold Tank in 1962 from her brother-in-law, Prince Stanislaw Radziwill—a piece later purchased by Kim Kardashian at a Christie’s rare watch auction in 2017 for $379,500. Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy regularly wore a Tank watch, which she was often snapped wearing on the streets of New York. Princess Diana owned a Cartier Tank Louis that she was photographed wearing in the ’90s. It has also been worn by Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Yves Saint Laurent, Muhammad Ali, Andy Warhol, Paul Mescal, Jacob Elordi, and Tyler, The Creator.
Searches for Cartier watches were up 104% in 2024, according to Fashionphile. In the report, the Panthère watch saw its value double from 2023 to 2024. The Baignoire watch, too, has seen a similar rise in popularity. The New York Times called the Baignoire timepiece “the talk of the town” as it took hold of the fashion set and as new models were introduced, including the bangle version, monogram designs, and a diamond-encrusted style. During 2024, the Panthère and Baignoire watches maintained their popularity, but the classic Tank timepiece set on a leather band dominated. “Trends and our tastes of late seem to have gone back to the basics and this applies to watches as well,” Tringh shared with Who What Wear on shifts in the watch market in 2024.
Details of the Cartier Tank Must and Cartier Tank Louis watches.
