Cartier has revived one of its most superb, esoteric watches

The return of Cartier's Tank AsymÃ©trique is just one symptom of a horological renaissance chez Cartier Dating from 1936, the Tank AsymÃ©trique was the final creation from a golden age of watch design at Cartier that began in 1904 The so-called "Shaped" case signified the modernity of the wristwatch and Cartier became the king of the shaped case.

Before the First World War, it tried curvilinear with tonneau- and tortue-case shapes, but it was the new-fangled weaponry of the Great War that bequeathed the name to Cartier's most enduring success: the straight-sided Tank After its debut in the late 1930s at the tail end of the Art Deco period, it came back into fashion during the golden era of Cartier London during the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Cartier's London branch, which acted independently of the New York and Paris branches, went through a highly experimental, almost psychedelic phase with bold case shapes and exaggerated dial designs A handsome triple-lug edition, it is further evidence that Cartier realises the value of its back catalogue of superb designs.