[imagesource: Sipa Images]

On Princess Diana’s wrist above is a time-telling masterpiece – a Cartier Tank watch.

Owning two of the iconic watches, a Tank Louis Cartier and an all-gold Tank Française, she was not alone, as this unisex timepiece had a serious celebrity following.

There was also artist Andy Warhol, actor Rudolph Valentino, as and former US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

In fact, when Kennedy’s watch sold in 2017, it fetched $379 500, making it the most expensive Cartier Tank ever sold, according to Crown and Caliber.

The Cartier Tank watch that became the “the watch to wear” was invented by the founder of the brand, Louis Cartier, in 1917.

Like all artists, Mr Cartier was influenced by the times.

The Renault FT-17, a French tank used during the First World War, inspired the Tank’s name and design:

It may sound strange for a watch, particularly one as elegant as this, to derive its name from military equipment.

However, Renault held high regard as innovative. The Renault was the first tank to house its weapon in a fully rotating turret. It was a small, but mighty design:

Image: crownandcaliber

The watch uses the modern lines of the Renault, managing to be both rectangular and square, which allowed it to depart from the usual jewellery designs of that time and really stand out as an iconic brand.

Cartier gifted the Tank’s first prototype to US General John Pershing in 1918 and debuted the other six watches made to the public the following year.

Now, the Cartier Tank has been in production longer than any other watch brand, and with classic design and modern principles, it might just be the best unisex watch ever made.

The modern models are expansive, with six different collections.

Image: crownandcaliber

The largest collection is that of the Tank Anglaise. Then there is the classic Tank Louis Cartier, the elongated Tank Americaine, the sportier Tank Francaise, the more masculine Tank MC, and lastly, the most modern version, the Tank Solo.

It looks like Cartier has spent its time well.

[source:crownandcaliber]