Tank and Ronde Solo: elegance on the wrist

 

Even in haute horology spin-offs are created " successful from iconic collections.In fact, just as a TV series sometimes sees one of its characters gain the attention and appreciation of its fans, to the point that a new stand-alone series is created centred solely on him, in the watchmaking world the particular shape and style of a "parent" timepiece can become so iconic that it gives rise to independent collections that take up its name and lines.In this week's article, we tell you about two successful "spin-offs" that have been able to take the identity of the progenitor and re-propose it in a simpler and more immediate way, bringing many enthusiasts closer to luxury watchmaking who have found in those collections the same allure typical of the Maison , with a truly advantageous price/quality ratio.


The Maison in question is Cartier, and today we are talking about the Tank Solo and the Ronde Solo.

Created in the 2000s, the Tank Solo explicitly refers to the mythical Tank, a wristwatch created in 1917 by the Parisian company and marketed a couple of years later.

Its unique shape already claimed from its name to be inspired by that of the tanks (tank) that took on the battlefields during the First World War, as is evident when observing the silhouette of the case from above.

The Tank Solo starts out from that ingenious idea, and stylistically "excavates" it by reducing it to the essential idea, a simple and refined rectangle, shaped by lines marked by extreme rigour and cleanliness.

The dial certainly does not betray the spirit Cartier, with its blued-steel gladius hands , which provide a chromatic pendant to the blue of the synthetic spinel, cabochon the crown; the numerals are the unmistakable 'Roman' with the ever-present minute track chemin de fer.

There are three sizes of the Tank Solo, for all wrists, with the automatic movement provided only for the larger one, which also sees the date window open at six o'clock.

Available with a steel case, with a bracelet in the same material, or with a leather strap, the Solo also include an interesting version with a steel and gold strap , in which the noble metal is not used for the case back, but only for the upper part of the watch and for the pin buckle: a simply ingenious idea, which allows the timepiece to offer the aesthetic experience of an all-gold watch, at a significantly lower cost.

The Ronde Solo is a direct offshoot of the precious Ronde Louis Cartier - again, through a work of subtraction and simplification of stylistic features - and is the "different twin" and round of the rectangular Tank Solo, with which it shares the e binding simplicity of the lines, the one hundred per cent Cartier aesthetic appeal, as well as the three-part division into the different sizes (quartz, here, is provided only for the small one).

And also for the Ronde Solo, as for the Tank, in addition to the models in steel with a strap or bracelet, there is a version, with a strap only, in steel and gold.