An early version of the Cartier Tank Françoise, first created in 1917 Inspired in 1917 by military tanks, Louis Cartier created the amazing Tank timepiece, which has become one of Cartier’s most famous and popular lines still going strong today. In the battle of the Western Front there was a new machine being used called the Renault tank. Cartier ran with the design and gave the first version of it to General John Pershing of the American Expeditionary Force. The Cartier Tank Françoise watch was born. The shape of the early Cartier Tank watches was a combination of a square and a rectangle made from solid stainless steel as rugged as the tank machines of its day. The class face of the watch contained Roman numerals and blue sword shaped hands, which is still prevalent in the Tank series of today
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Cartier Tank Françoise Is A Historic, Lasting Timepiece