Harry Fane Vintage Cartier Tank Obus 1943-44

Harry Fane is well know for his vintage watch and jewellery collections. Since 1978 he has been collecting pieces from Cartier Golden Years of the 1920s & 1930s. He is recognised as a world authority in this field with a special emphasis on the objets d'art.

‘Obus’ (French) means artillery shell and this watch along with many Cartier watches has lugs shaped like an artillery shell. The origin of these lugs was from the First World War. The motif found favour with Cartier and shell shaped lugs became a feature of Cartier watches right up to the 1950’s. This particular ‘Obus ’is large and benefits from the typical Cartier cabochon sapphire winder with a minimalist dial supplemented with a subsidiary second’s dial. Many variations of this dial configuration are to be found in the ‘Cartier, A century of Cartier Wristwatches’ by George Gordon published in 1989. This configuration is a big departure from the classic Cartier dial with Roman numerals and must have been considered sportier in the mid part of the Twentieth Century. This example is dated to 1943-44.

Dimensions: 24mm width and 24mm length 30.6mm inc. lugs and 5.8mm depth.18K Yellow Gold

Please do not hesitate to contact the DSM Jewellery team if you would like further information or to see images of how this item is worn.