Lot 503

Cartier, "Tank Basculante", Movement No. 15961, Case No. 48304, 20 x 38 mm, circa 1940
A gentleman's early, reversible wristwatch with Cartier service paper from November 3rd, 2015
Case: 18k gold, screwed on back, crown at 12 o'clock, 18k gold deployant clasp. Dial: enamel. Movm.: rectangular movement, screw compensation balance.
This is an extremely rare Cartier "Cabriolet Reversible" or "Tank Basculante" model; it has all the characteristics of a Cartier wristwatch such as the enamel dial, the Roman numerals and the blued hands.
The "Tank Basculante" was introduced into the market in 1932. The purpose of the reversible case, which allowed the rotation of the case around the horizontal axis, was the protection of the crystal and the dial during sporting activities. When the case is propped up, the watch can also be used as a small table clock at night.
Its development is the result of a joint collaboration between LeCoultre, Csar de Trey of Specialits Horlogers SA in Lausanne and Jaeger in Paris. This collaboration resulted in a patent reserved for Cartier in 1932 that was initially known as "Cabriolet Reversible".
A new edition of this wristwatch was launched in the 1990s.
This very rare timepiece is in excellent condition; the engraved Cartier numbers are still clearly visible on the beautiful case and the charmingly aged original dial has lost none of its appeal.
The model is illustrated and described in "Cartier - Tank-Uhr" by Franco Cologni, pages 97-100 and 214-215.