Cartier CPCP Tank À Vis 'Wandering Hours'

There are rare Cartier watches, and then there are Cartier watches that make even seasoned collectors stop and stare.

The Cartier Tank À Vis CPCP Ref. 2554 belongs firmly in the latter category.

Produced as part of the legendary Collection Privée Cartier Paris (CPCP), this reference comes from what many enthusiasts consider Cartier's modern golden age. Created in the early 2000s, the CPCP collection revisits some of the maison's most important historical designs while pairing them with sophisticated mechanical movements and exceptional finishing. The result is a series of watches that elevated Cartier from design icon to serious horological force.

The Tank À Vis was already an unconventional choice within the CPCP lineup, distinguished by its exposed bezel screws and elongated rectangular profile. But the Ref. 2554 goes several steps further, thanks to one of watchmaking's most captivating complications: wandering hours.

Rather than displaying the hour with a conventional hand, the current hour appears within a rotating aperture that slowly travels across an arc-shaped minute track before disappearing and yielding to the next hour indication. It's a centuries-old complication, once favored in 17th-century clocks, reimagined here through Cartier's uniquely elegant lens. The result feels both mechanical and magical.

The silvered guilloché dial provides a spectacular backdrop for the display. Radiating from the center with a subtle sunburst pattern, it creates texture and depth while allowing the central minute hand and wandering hour complication to remain the undisputed star of the show. A discreet date display at the bottom of the dial adds practicality without disturbing the overall balance.

Housed in a 28mm 18K white gold case, the watch is powered by the manually wound Caliber 9902 MC and features a sapphire display back secured by eight screws. Fitted to a simple green leather strap with a steel pin buckle, the entire package feels distinctly Cartier: elegant, unconventional, and endlessly sophisticated.

The CPCP collection produced many great watches. The Tank À Vis Wandering Hours may be one of the most fascinating…and poetic.

Despite being a purveyor of haute joaillerie, Cartier has had a long tradition of making watches.

It started in 1907, when founder Louis Cartier made what was one of the first wristwatches for his friend Alberto Santos-Dumont. In the following years, the brand made a name for itself with its most famous wristwatch, the Tank, in all its multitudinous forms.

Cartier introduced the Tank in 1917 — which was supposedly inspired by the Renault FT-17 tanks seen on the battlefields of World War I — with a run of six pieces. (According to legend, these were given to American General John J. Pershing and his staff.) Cartier took the look of the Renault tank's treads and applied it to the watch’s lugs, which were integrated via brancards into the case itself. That first run of six pieces increased to thirty-three by 1920, and by the end of the 20th Century, that number stood well in the hundreds of thousands. Indeed, in sheer volume alone, the Tank — in all its various models — is Cartier's largest line of watches.

The Tank Louis was introduced in 1922, followed close on the heels of the Asian-influenced Tank Chinoise. The Chinoise, released amidst a mania for jewelry inspired by the Orient, has a square rather than rectangular case and lugs that resemble the portico of a Chinese pagoda.

From its debut, the Tank would see many variations, each in keeping with Louis Cartier’s taste for clean lines and perfect symmetry. Each variant — from the original Tank to the Tank Louis to the Cintrée with its flirtatious, curvaceous lines — has its passionate devotees. Rudolph Valentino, that sensual star of the silver screen, insisted on wearing his Tank onscreen in The Son of the Sheik, and Clark Gable, Andy Warhol, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis were among those who sported a one throughout the years.

Other model lines, including the Santos (based upon the original model crafted for Alberto Santos-Dumont) and the Pasha, have developed devoted followers. Indeed, the maison is unique as one of the few jewelry brands to elicit as much passion from collectors as dedicated watch companies.

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Condition

Since our pieces are vintage or pre-owned, please expect wear & patina from usage and age. Please read each item description and examine all product images.

Warranty

We back each Analog:Shift vintage timepiece with a two-year mechanical warranty from the date of purchase.

International Buyers

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All of our watches include complementary insured shipping within the 50 states.

Most of our products are on hand and will ship directly from our headquarters in New York City. In some cases, watches will be shipped directly from one of our authorized partners.

We generally ship our products via FedEx, fully insured, within 5 business days of purchase. An adult signature is required for receipt of all packages for insurance purposes. Expedited shipping is available at an additional cost. We are also happy to hand deliver your purchase in Manhattan or you may pick it up at our showroom.

Returns must be sent overnight or by priority international delivery, fully insured and paid for by the customer. A restocking fee may apply. Watches must be returned in the same condition as initially shipped.

We welcome international buyers, please contact us prior to purchase for additional details on shipping and payment options.