The Tank à Guichet was introduced in 1928, and represents one of the most radical departures from conventional timekeeping that Cartier produced during the interwar period. The name comes from the French word guichet, meaning a small window or wicket, and refers directly to the watch's defining feature: the complete absence of a traditional dial and moving hands, replaced instead by two aperture openings cut into the case through which the time is displayed.
Time Display
The à Guichet system uses two separate windows rather than a single dial with hands. The upper window is a small square or rectangular aperture that shows the hour as a numeral on a rotating disc: at each hour the disc jumps to the next figure, producing the so-called jumping-hour display. The lower aperture is fan-shaped, occupying the lower portion of the case face, and shows a graduated minute scale through which a disc rotates; a fixed marker or the edge of the arc indicates the current minute.
The result is a face with no hands and no traditional dial. The solid case surface between and around the apertures dominates the visual impression, giving the watch a strongly architectural, almost typographic quality that places it firmly within the aesthetic priorities of Cartier's Art Deco period.
Rarity and Context
The Tank à Guichet was made in very small numbers during the late 1920s and 1930s. Like the Tank Chinoise of 1922, the complexity of the design and the specialised nature of its execution limited production in much the same way as other experimental case forms from this period. Platinum examples from the original production are particularly scarce, and the watch appears infrequently at auction. When examples do come to market, they attract significant attention from collectors of Cartier's more unusual timepieces.
The à Guichet should not be confused with other Cartier watches that incorporate jumping-hour or sector-display complications fitted to otherwise conventional cases. The defining feature of the Tank à Guichet is specifically the complete replacement of the dial and hands with the two-aperture window system within the Tank case architecture.
Sources
- Phillips, Geneva Watch Auction XIX: Cartier Tank à Guichet
