Tank must de Cartier LM Coral red (Burgundy) - Men's watch

Must de Cartier Tank LM in Coral Red (Burgundy) – Large Size, Manual-Winding Movement The 1969 quartz crisis sent shockwaves through the entire watch industry, and Cartier, like many other European watchmakers, could not escape its impact. More accurate and more affordable quartz watches created immense pressure on the traditional watch market. As a result, Cartier was forced to find a solution — one that would allow the Maison to continue creating timepieces worthy of its illustrious name, but at a far more competitive price point. And as we now know, that solution was Must de Cartier. In 1972, Robert Hocq — a shrewd investor — acquired Cartier Paris. Together with Perrin, who was then the General Director of Cartier Paris, he gave birth to the concept and product line known as “Les Must de Cartier” — a more accessible branch of Cartier products, positioned as items one simply “must have,” true to its name. Indeed, according to The New York Times, the name “Must” came from a Cartier employee’s remark: “Cartier, it’s a must!” At first glance, the Must de Cartier Tank looks almost identical to the Tank Louis Cartier, with its signature rounded rectangular case shape — a design that has remained one of Cartier’s defining icons for decades. The key factor that made this watch more accessible lies in its case material and movement. Instead of using solid 18k gold or platinum like the Tank Louis Cartier, the Must de Cartier Tank was crafted in vermeil silver (925 silver with a 20-micron gold coating). And instead of the Tank Louis Cartier’s in-house movement or a Frédéric Piguet calibre, the Must de Cartier Tank used either a quartz movement or a simple hand-wound mechanical movement produced by ETA. Thanks to these sensible choices in materials and movement, Cartier was able to offer the watch at a far more attractive price than the Tank Louis Cartier — just US$350 at launch — while still preserving the elegance, sophistication, and unmistakable spirit of the brand. The Must de Cartier line featured more than a dozen dial designs, over half of which had never appeared on traditional Cartier models before. Among the most notable designs introduced in the 1977 collection were five standout versions: - Lapis blue dial - Tortoise brown dial - Coral red dial - Onyx black dial - Ivory / lemon dial All five were offered in two sizes: a large size of 23 × 30.5 mm and a small size of 20.5 × 28 mm, both fitted with manual-winding movements. Today, these are also among the most sought-after Must de Cartier models among seasoned collectors — not only because of their historical significance, but also because of the enduring beauty that the Must de Cartier line continues to embody over time.