Up for sale is this classic Men's Cartier Tank Louis Cartier in 18k Yellow Gold with stunning and perfect opaline Roman numeral dial. Produced in limited numbers during the early 1980s and preceding the introduction of the Piguet caliber 21, this manual winding Tank model 7808 has a robust, high quality ETA-based movement which served Cartier admirably in their relatively few non-quartz watches for many years. The traditional 23.5 x 31mm Tank case is super thick and may never have been polished. Overall, the watch is in Excellent used condition and keeping good time with an absolutely Mint dial. With Cartier’s new watch prices skyrocketing, this timeless all-gold Tank Louis is great value for money and it is absolutely guaranteed authentic.
The asking price for this fantastic mechanical 18k Cartier Tank Louis is $2850 USD. This price
includes fully insured shipping worldwide. Bank Wire preferred. Paypal OK with split fees (+2% to the buyer) unless by eCheck. Other payment options upon application. Watch will ship upon full clearance of the funds, as well as any necessary bank vetting. Payment must be made in US DOLLARS.
Click Here for Large Dial Scan 
CASE & BACK: This fantastically designed watch with screwed water resistant case measures 23.5mm x 31mm x 6mm, the classic Men's size, as timeless today as when Louis Cartier designed it in back in 1919. The case is very thick and if it has ever been polished, aside from me giving it a light rub with a Cape Cod cloth, it was only very sparingly. As one would expect from a 30-year-old gold watch, there are minor marks and small scratches from wear, including some fingernail marks adjacent to the winder--Excellent overall vintage condition. I will leave it up to the new owner to decide whether to have it professionally polished, as that is quite a personal choice for every collector. The back also appears to never have been polished showing its original brushed finish and also a few marks and scratches, Very Good to Excellent condition, with all hand-stamped numbers and pertinent Cartier nomenclature of this particular era crisp and present. The gold case screws are very sharp and the strap screws show a little more wear, which is not uncommon.
DIAL & HANDS: Absolutely stunning and Mint factory-printed white opaline dial with black enamel Roman numerals with no discoloration or flaws to the finish. Blued steel epée hands are Near Mint with only the barest hint of oxidation. The “secret” signature at “7” is present, perhaps one of the first generation of dials to make use of this anti-counterfeiting detail. Simply a gorgeous and iconic Cartier dial layout in wonderfully Mint condition!
MOVEMENT: As mentioned above, this great Tank Louis features a manual wind ETA caliber, Cartier’s workhorse manual movement throughout the 70s and early 80s, years where it seems they produced about 100 quartz watches for every mechanical one. It’s great to own a solid gold Tank with a mechanical movement--it’s guaranteed to be appreciated by aficionados of the marque today and in the future. While I don't know the service history of this one, it has been running strong and keeping good time for several weeks and I guarantee that to be the case at the time of shipment.
CROWN: Classic Cartier knurled gold, cabochon sapphire-set winding crown fits snugly against the case, winds the movement and pulls out to the time setting position exactly as designed,
CRYSTAL: The slightly domed rectangular sapphire crystal has some very minor scratches from wear, Excellent.
BUCKLE: The heavy solid 18k Ardillon buckle is not signed by Cartier but may well be original to the watch and merely from the era when Cartier was not in the practice of signing their buckles with their own name. Of course, I am happy to be corrected on that matter if I've got it wrong. It
is signed “UNROC“ (more visible under a loupe than with the naked eye), one of the main suppliers of fancy Swiss watch buckles to high-end brands during the 60s, 70s and early 80s, and also hallmarked “0.750” & "18" for the karat weight of the gold. Very cool retro-style Ardillon buckle, IMO, and always nice to have a solid gold one.
STRAP: This great Tank comes on a brand new 18mm Hadley Roma black leather lizard-pattern strap.
I make absolutely NO guarantees for the water resistance of this watch
This guaranteed 100% authentic Cartier is offered with a 3-day inspection period from the date of receipt and may be returned for a full refund (less any shipping costs incurred by the buyer). This refund is unconditional and once I get the watch back in exactly the same condition as it was sent to you, your money will be refunded. Of course, once the 3 days are over the sale will be considered FINAL.
Thanks for looking,
T.
tomvox1 AT hotmail DOT com
United States
