Sell your Tank · South Florida · by appointment
Sell your Tank to someone who knows which Tank it is.
Louis Cartier, Must, Française, Américaine, Solo, or Cintrée: lines with their own metals, movements, and eras. Send photos and I reply within 1 business day with an offer and the reasons for it.
- Gold, vermeil, and steel Tanks told apart from the case back, not the colour
- Quartz Solo and Must watches bought on their own comparables
- Cintrée, Chinoise, and Normale quoted in person, never from a thumbnail
Who this page is for
A Tank is a shape. The line decides the offer.
This page is for the owner of a Cartier Tank who wants to know which line they own and what sets the number. A vermeil Must de Cartier, a steel Tank Solo, and a gold Tank Louis Cartier can look like the same watch in a photo: Roman numerals, blued hands, a cabochon in the crown. The difference between them is the whole offer.
Most Tanks I see were a gift or an inheritance, and the owner does not know if the case is gold, plated silver, or steel. That is normal. The case back answers it.
Mechanical versus quartz in general, hallmarks, buckles, and papers are covered on the Cartier page. Here I cover only what is specific to the Tank: the lines, vermeil wear, the Française bracelet, vintage dials, and what must be in your photos.
Selling a Tank to a private dealer
What a Tank buyer does differently.
Metal read before the number
Gold, vermeil, or steel sets the starting point. A 750 hallmark, a 925 or Argent mark, or plain steel on the case back tells me which.
Line and size placed first
Louis Cartier, Must, Française, Américaine, Anglaise, Solo. Each line has its own buyers, and small, medium, and large sell at different speeds within it.
Collector Tanks seen in person
A Cintrée, a Chinoise, a Normale, or a Paris-dial Louis Cartier gets a working range from photos and a firm number under the loupe.
Shipping on my account
A prepaid FedEx label insured to the declared value, signature on delivery, and the box opened on camera.
What I check on a Tank
Five things that move a Tank offer.
The Tank-specific variables. Hallmarks and papers in general are on the Cartier page.
Gold or vermeil
Vermeil is gold-plated silver. It looks like a gold Tank and has no metal floor. The case back shows 925 or Argent on vermeil and 750 on 18k gold.
Quartz, hand-wound, or automatic
Louis Cartier can be hand-wound or quartz. Solo and Must are mostly quartz, with automatics in the large sizes. Française is quartz in small and medium, automatic in large.
Which Must you own
A vermeil Must de Cartier from the late 1970s onward and a steel Tank Must from the 2021 relaunch, SolarBeat included, are different watches with different buyers.
Vintage dial condition
Lacquer and ivory dials on older Musts and Louis Cartiers spot, craze, and fade. An original dial with honest age beats a refinished one.
Française bracelet and clasp
The integrated bracelet is the Tank Française. Stretch between links, a worn clasp, or missing links lower the offer, because the fix is a Cartier bracelet.
How it works
Four steps, Tank photos in the first.
01
Get an offer
Submit the appraisal form with photos of the dial in daylight, the case back with its hallmarks, reference, and serial, the case corners where plating wears first, the buckle or the bracelet clasp open, and the certificate if you have it. I reply personally within 1 business day.
02
Ship or meet
Take the prepaid, fully insured FedEx label, anywhere in the USA, or book an appointment in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach. A gold Louis Cartier or any vintage Tank is best seen in person.
03
Inspect and confirm
I open the box on camera and check the metal, movement, dial, bracelet or buckle, serial, and papers against the line. If it matches the photos, the offer stands.
04
Get paid
Wire or check within 24 hours of inspection. If we do not agree, the watch goes back to you, insured, at my cost.
The split that decides most Tank offers
A vermeil Must de Cartier against a gold Tank Louis Cartier.
Same shape, same Roman dial. One has a metal floor and the other does not.
| Criteria | Must de Cartier Tank (vermeil) | Tank Louis Cartier (18k gold) |
|---|---|---|
| Case metal | Sterling silver plated with gold; the plating is thin and wears through at the edges | Solid 18k yellow, rose, or white gold, with a metal floor under the offer |
| Case back marks | 925, Argent, or Plaqué Or, plus a serial | 750 and Cartier's hallmarks, with reference and serial |
| Movement | Quartz on nearly all examples; the case back confirms it | Hand-wound in most sizes, quartz in some smaller ones |
| Dial | Roman numerals, or the lacquer dials collectors look for | Roman numerals; vintage Paris-signed dials trade higher |
| What moves the offer up | Unworn plating, an original lacquer dial, the original buckle, the red box | A Cartier deployant in matching gold, papers, and an unpolished case |
| What moves it down | Plating worn to silver at the corners, a spotted dial, a generic strap and buckle | A polished case with soft edges, a replaced crown, a refinished dial |
Directions, not figures. Solo, Française, Américaine, and Anglaise owners: your line has its own section below.
The detail
What moves a Tank offer, line by line.
Gold, vermeil, or steel: read the case back first
An 18k gold Tank carries a 750 hallmark and Cartier's own marks. A vermeil Must de Cartier carries 925 or Argent, sometimes Plaqué Or, because the case is sterling silver under a layer of gold. This one check sets the floor of the offer, because gold has value in the metal and vermeil has almost none. The vermeil Must was made to look exactly like the gold Louis Cartier, so the question comes up more on the Tank than on any other line.
Tank Louis Cartier: the gold one
The Tank Louis Cartier is the classic shape in solid gold, hand-wound in most sizes and quartz in some of the smaller ones, in yellow, rose, or white gold. Older examples may carry a Paris-signed dial, and those trade well above later production. The two things that lower a Louis Cartier most are a polished case and a replaced crown. The brancards, the bars that frame the dial, should have crisp edges and flat tops. I price it on the collector market with the gold as a floor, and I show both numbers in the reply.
Tank Must: two different watches with one name
The Must de Cartier Tank from the late 1970s onward was vermeil and quartz, with Roman dials and with the lacquer dials in burgundy, black, blue, and ivory that collectors now look for. Plating wears at the corners, along the brancards, and on the back where the watch meets the wrist. Worn plating is priced as worn, because replating is a cost the next buyer carries. An original lacquer dial with light age is the stronger position; a spotted or crazed one is still bought.
In 2021 Cartier relaunched the Tank Must in steel: small and large quartz, a large automatic, an extra large automatic, and the SolarBeat version. These trade close to new, so the card, the box, and the original strap and buckle matter more than on the vintage vermeil.
Tank Française: the bracelet is the watch
The Tank Française from 1996 is the Tank on an integrated bracelet, in small and medium quartz and large automatic, in steel, two-tone, and gold. Cartier reshaped the case and bracelet in 2023. The bracelet is the first thing I check. Links loosen over years of daily wear until the bracelet hangs and the watch slides on the wrist. That is bracelet stretch, and it lowers the offer because the fix is a replacement bracelet from Cartier. A Française with a tight bracelet and all its links sits in the stronger position.
Américaine, Anglaise, and Solo
The Tank Américaine is the curved, elongated Tank, originally in gold and platinum, with steel added later, automatic in the large size. The Tank Anglaise from 2012 sinks the crown into the brancard, in steel, two-tone, and gold, quartz or automatic. The Tank Solo was the steel entry point from 2004 until it was retired around 2021, quartz in small and large and automatic in the XL. A quartz Solo competes with the steel Must on the current market, so the offer follows that market closely.
Cintrée, Chinoise, Normale: quoted in person
Three Tanks are collector pieces and I do not price them from a photo. The Tank Cintrée is the long, curved case from the 1920s. The Tank Chinoise carries its brancards across the top and bottom of the dial. The Tank Normale is the original shape from 1917. Vintage examples and the modern Cartier Privé editions each have their own following. I give a working range from the photos and a firm number after inspection.
When selling to me is not the right call
If the Tank is a family piece and you are unsure, keep it. If you own a Cintrée, a Chinoise, or a Paris-dial Louis Cartier, I will say after inspection whether an auction is the better route. If you expect a retail price for a quartz Solo or a worn vermeil Must, a dealer offer will disappoint you. If you want the watch sold this week, insured, inspected by one person, and paid within 24 hours of that inspection, this is the right page.
How to prepare your Tank submission
- The case back straight on, close enough to read the hallmarks, the reference, and the serial.
- The dial in daylight, straight on, so spotting, crazing, or a refinish shows.
- The case corners and the brancards from an angle, where plating or polishing shows first.
- The crown and its cabochon, and the buckle or the bracelet clasp open.
- On a Française, the bracelet hanging from the case so I can see any stretch, plus any removed links.
Questions, answered
Before you send a Tank
Is my Tank gold or vermeil?
Read the case back. 750 means 18k gold. 925, Argent, or Plaqué Or means vermeil, which is gold-plated silver. If the gold has worn to a silver colour at the corners, it is vermeil.
Do you buy quartz Tank Solo and Tank Must watches?
Yes. They are priced on the current market for steel quartz Cartier, close to the line Cartier sells today. Condition, the box, the card, and the original buckle set the number within that.
Is a Tank Française with bracelet stretch still sellable?
Yes. Stretch lowers the offer because the fix is a Cartier replacement bracelet, but it does not stop the sale. Send a photo of the bracelet hanging from the case.
Which Tank lines are collector pieces?
The Cintrée, the Chinoise, the Normale, and vintage gold Louis Cartiers with Paris-signed or lacquer dials, plus the Cartier Privé editions of those shapes. I quote them after inspection, not from a photo.
Should I service it first?
No. A service before a sale rarely pays for itself, and a stopped quartz Tank usually needs only a battery. I price any needed work into the offer.
Sell your Tank
A real number on your Tank, in 1 business day.
Send the case back, dial, corner, and buckle photos listed above. I reply personally with an offer and the reasons behind it. Insured shipping is on me. Payout within 24 hours of inspection.