Cartier Tank Normale (78092)
Intro - Normale vs. Louis
I won’t bore you with the whole “Cartier tank design was based on a WW1 tank”. We know, it’s the introduction to every sales listing for a Cartier Tank, I get it, you get it. But, did you know the first tank was not a Louis Cartier, but rather a Normale? Probably you did, as this isn’t really as secret.
What continues to surprise me though is that despite this, the Tank Normale is so much less popular than it’s little brother, the Tank Louis. This is surprising because the market is obsessed with rarity, and the Normale is significantly more rare than the Louis.
Some quick napkin math tells me there are roughly 10,000 normals out there, TOTAL.
Between 1973 - 1917, assume Cartier made 500 watches per year, and 10% of the watches was a Normale, very rough swag of ~2,800 watches
Between 1973 and early 1980’s Cartier made ~2,500 of 78092 and ~2,500 of 78093, call it 5,000
Between 1980 and 2022, there were very few quartz tanks made, call it another ~2,000
Finally, in 2023 Cartier released a limited number of ~1,000 Tank Normale’s
We can argue about my assumptions all day, but I bet my bottom dollar this is easily within an order of magnitude. 10,000 Tank Normale’s ever made. Compare than with >15,000 Tank Louis Cartier reference 78086 between 1973 - early 1980s. Compare that with >500,000 Rolex Submariner 5513 produced.
Cartier Tank Normale from 1917 in Platinum (I believe); Photo Credit - Monochrone-watches
Yet despite the 78092 being 6x more rare than 78086, today it only commands a 2x price premium in the market. Unusual indeed. But rather than speculate on market tastes and valuations, I’m here to write about the 78092 and its different variations within this reference.
Let’s start with the basics, what’s normal for a normale? Traditionally, a Tank Normale has a rectangular case (like the Louis), but with a square dial (vs. the rectangular dial in the Louis). It usually has polished braincards with a clearly defined beveled outer edge. These outer beveled edges are often tragically lost to case polishing over the years.
From my research, there are 4 model variants of the 78092, which I will refer to as Mark I - IV.