Cartier Tank Must XL: Strap or Bracelet?
I’ve dabbled with the Cartier Tank Must XL on and off for a while. A dress watch is the obvious gap in my 3-watch collection but I’ve held back up until now as I rarely wear a suit anymore due to working from home about 95% of the time.
I was shopping in London the other day with my wife and we went into the Cartier store on Bond Street for her to try on some stuff. While I was waiting I asked to try on the Tank Must XL on the strap plus the bracelet version. Out of the blue I quite liked the bracelet. This has opened up me finally pulling the trigger on a Tank.
Has anyone been in a similar situation where they prefer a watch on a strap but pay the extra to get it on a bracelet?
The leather strap version is £3,850 vs the bracelet one at £4,250 plus the Cartier calfskin strap and deployment buckle so around £4,700 total.
Is it worth the extra £850 if it means I wear the watch a lot more?
P.S. My wife and the shop assistant looked at me a bit strange when I said I think I need to put a post on Watch Crunch to get a second opinion 🤣
Watch geek | Sports fan (football, baseball, NFL, F1, NBA, rugby, cricket, golf) | Fitness
I have a strap and bracelet for mine and prefer the strap - more classic. Better for typing too.
Have you considered the large (which is really medium) size? Much better proportions I’d say. Try it on instore and ask watchcrunch.
I have a strap and bracelet for mine and prefer the strap - more classic. Better for typing too.
Have you considered the large (which is really medium) size? Much better proportions I’d say. Try it on instore and ask watchcrunch.
Thanks! Do you wear the bracelet much even though you prefer the strap? It‘s quite different from my other bracelets - no taper, chunky, polished - so it might take some getting used to.
I tried the Large on and prefer XL. Purely personal preference.
I have a strap and bracelet for mine and prefer the strap - more classic. Better for typing too.
Have you considered the large (which is really medium) size? Much better proportions I’d say. Try it on instore and ask watchcrunch.
Totally agree, the large is better proportioned for most people. The XL is so large you need not just big wrists but really flat wrists to make it work. Plus I think a tank shouldn’t have a date window.
Whether I prefer the strap or not, , I always pay extra for the bracelet. You can guarantee that not only is the watch worth more, but if you wanted to buy the bracelet afterwards, they'll charge you way more than the original difference. That seems to be how it works for just about every manufacturer. Cartier will be no different.
In this instance, I think the bracelet looks better on you.
Thanks! Do you wear the bracelet much even though you prefer the strap? It‘s quite different from my other bracelets - no taper, chunky, polished - so it might take some getting used to.
I tried the Large on and prefer XL. Purely personal preference.
Perhaps you have the wtidy for it as it looks good.
I wore it on the bracelet daily for a good while and it was ok. Just a nagging realisation that a tank belongs on a strap. Right now I have no plans to get the bracelet on again. i did get a lovely second strap from delugs.
If you need a dress watch now and again, but spend most itme WOF/casual, you could try the Santos De Cartier? They are surprisingly flexible on the dress---sports continuum. also handy with the quick-change, so you can have Steel, rubber and leather straps, with minimal strap changing faff...
I think the bracelet obscures the XL factor better, since you're insistent on that. Also you don't have to worry about the leather color match factor.
I have a strap and bracelet for mine and prefer the strap - more classic. Better for typing too.
Have you considered the large (which is really medium) size? Much better proportions I’d say. Try it on instore and ask watchcrunch.
Cartier Tank just feels right on a leather band. I just like the more dressy vibe of leather.
Cartier Tank just feels right on a leather band. I just like the more dressy vibe of leather.
I agree, I prefer it on the leather strap too but to increase wrist time the bracelet is looking appealing.
Side by side on me
I’ll admit, I like the look with the strap more in pictures, but the experience on the wrist is what matters. Agree with prior Crunchers, if you think you want a bracelet, get it now, the premium later is usually high.
Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t. The quick change feature makes it super easy to wear it however you feel that day.
Yes definitely, 100% . Nice watch, not on my radar but I do like it on the bracelet.
Easy, bracelet for the day, strap in the evening.
The strap just looks way better, it suits the watch more, Cartier Tank is more of a dressy watch than a sport one imo
I always buy it on the bracelet for value & resale and immediately change it out to a strap to wear it daily
I have always like the Tank design, but even though I have a small wrist, I don’t feel confortable with the large size, and the XL is just too big for my wrist. Recently I got a Tank Francaise XL, that is 30x36x8 mm. For some people Tanks should wear small but I’m really enjoying this size with a leather strap.
Go with the leather strap !
If you care to resell it, get the bracelet and put an aftermarket strap while wearing it. Personally I do not like the look of the tank with a bracelet. In that case, just get a santos or a ronde must. But if you’re buying it to keep for life, then save the money and get the strap. It feels so much better on the strap. Comfortable deployment clasp for typing all day. (Cartier did invent the deployment I believe.)
Hands down, Strap!
If you think that you'd wear the watch more with the bracelet, it sounds to me like that's the route you should take. I normally opt for a bracelet if it's an option, but with the Tank I'd have a harder time making up my mind, since I think it suits the strap so well.
IMO the design of Cartier’s bracelet doesn’t match the overall elegance of the Tank itself and somewhat diminishes its appeal in my eyes. For those reasons I think it looks much more appealing on a leather strap (as it was intended). In terms of value, the Tank is also the exception to the rule about always buying a watch with the bracelet for resale as I think the vast majority of prospective Tank buyers will wear it on a strap.