The Cartier Tank is one of the most classic dress watches on the market. But it is understandable that not everyone can afford this watch, given that it has a price that exceeds a normal monthly salary for most people. Here we bring you the best alternative to the Cartier Tank on the market right now.
It is a dream for many to be able to buy a real quality watch from the world’s most exclusive watch brands at some point in their lives. Especially at a young age, however, this can be a utopia, given the prices that these watches command. That’s why we often get questions here at the editorial office about which brands to invest in if you want a good watch with a similar design. Here we take up the challenge and present an alternative to one of the most stylish watches on the market – the Cartier Tank.
Cartier Tank in brief
Cartier Tank is one of the absolute classics among wristwatches. Created by Louis Cartier in 1917, it was inspired by the new Renault tankers that Cartier saw on the Western Front during the First World War. The Tank watch was first displayed in 1918 and went into full production in 1919, when a total of six examples were created. Remember, this was still an era when wristwatches were a relatively new invention. It was not until the 1920s that the wristwatch really took off.
Since then, many different versions of the watch have been launched. The Tank Louis was launched in 1922 and the Tank Americaine in 1989. The latest version of the Tank is called the Tank Francaise and was launched in 1996.
The main features of the Cartier Tank are its Roman numerals and the crown, which is shaped like a sword in blue sapphire. The Cartier Tank is one of the world’s most sought-after and at the same time most copied wristwatches of all time. Famous users include Yves Saint Laurent, Cary Grant and Jackie Kennedy – just to name a few.
Best affordable watches similar to Cartier Tank
There are many brands on the market that have tried to emulate the design of the Cartier Tank. No one has succeeded in this better than Seiko, which has created a similar model with its SUP880P1. Seiko also makes no secret of the fact that it was Cartier Tank that inspired the creation of the watch.
The first model of the watch belonged to Seiko’s Solar series and is a solar-powered quartz watch. It is made of stainless steel and has a hardlex crystal covering the dial. The watch is water-resistant up to 30 metres. Below you see another version of a nice dress watch from Seiko that I own – model SWR064.
Japanese Seiko was among the first to start mass production of quartz watches. When its series were first introduced, they were very expensive. In fact, Seiko watches were in the price range of a Japanese sedan car! But the history of Seiko goes back much further than that, as the company was founded back in 1881 in Tokyo. At first, the business consisted of a jewellery shop in Ginza, Japan. It was in 1892 that founder Kintaro Hattori started making pocket watches, which were named Seikosha, a name that would later be renamed Seiko – the Japanese equivalent of the word success.
It was in 1969 that Seiko introduced the world’s first quartz watch in the form of the Seiko Quartz Astron. This was 100 times more accurate than any other watch and ran continuously for a year. It was 250 times longer than most mechanical watches on the market. Among today’s Seiko watches you will find plenty of classic dress and sports models, with both mechanical and quartz movements.
Other cheaper alternatives to the Cartier Tank
The aforementioned Seiko SUP880 is just one of the options you can easily find by searching on Amazon. There is also a wide range of models from classic American Hamilton, including the stylish Boulton Quartz suit watch.
Another classic American brand is Bulova, which has an incredibly rich history. In fact, this was one of the biggest watch brands of the 20th century, and in the 1960s Bulova came close to being chosen as the first watch brand to land on the moon. Instead, it was Omega Speedmaster that took that honour. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that Bulova is one of the most traditional brands still in production.
One of the most stylish dress watches that resembles Cartier’s Tank model is the Bulova 97B162.
Moving up a few price ranges, we find the Longines DolceVita automatic movement. So despite the price being almost 14,000 crowns, it is far from what you end up paying for the Cartier Tank which is at least 50,000 crowns. Roughly in the same price range is the Hampton quartz movement from Swiss luxury brand Baume & Mercier.
Here are some of the best alternatives to the Cartier Tank on the market right now. Hope we’ve been able to help you out a bit along the way!
