The square dress watch rabbit hole
hello fellow watch nerd, how do you do? i hope everyone's doing good. lately i've been obsessed with tank style dresswatch, so i watch too many youtube video and article about them before sleep which resulted nonproductive time a day later. so if you are interested at tank style watch this article is probably for you. i try my best to summarize my finding to all of you.
so i will divided the watch based on the price range. and as far as i know these selection is a modern models which you can buy based on your country (i apologized if any of these selection sold out when i wrote this article). also many of these models got mens and womens size so please do check the dimension before you buy (i find many of the womens model are nicer than the mens model).
price range over 2000$:
this is the upper echelon of the tank watch. im sure most of the enthusiast knew them. i found many models at the lower price range taking inspiration from this price range.
jlc reverso
cartier tank
fears archival
fears is one of the old british brand from 1846 based on bristol. they made a lot of classic looking watch with modern technology (material, movement, etc).
cuervo y sobrinos prominente
another model added by fellow wc. its an unique looking watch and its a cuban brand. powered by soprod mechanical movement. at the first glance it is similar to the frederique constant classic carree.
price range 1000$-2000$:
middle tier of the tank watch. i dont find many tank watch from this price range, but here is a few interesting model.
longines dolce vita
oris rectangular
frederique constant classic carree
i didnt find many article or youtube video about this, but i think they look nice and well built.
price range under 1000$:
the affordable alternative which pretty much everybody can buy. many of them are quartz with miyota, seiko, or ronda movement.
casio ltpv007 or mtpv007
i bought this ltpv007 last year for less than 50$ and it was a big mistake. its too small for a mens size and ended up giving it to my girlfriend, there are mens size variant too but the womens dial variant are more attractive. (notes: i think the case is made from chromium plated brass).
casio mtp tw101l
recently this one just pop into the market. this one its much nicer than the previous model for less than 100$. i think the case is still made from chromium plated brass.
lorus rh907jx8 or rg275mx
seiko swr049
there are many tank style watch from seiko, but i think this one is probably my favourite.
lip churcill t24
i dont find this brand mention a lot. lip is an old watch brand from besancon french. looking at their catalog is like looking at rotary watch catalog, all of them equipped with miyota movement. but i like this churcill very much, it has his own identity.
rotary cambridge
this one is my favourite. you can choose the cambridge dial to be a reverso or a cartier. it has a nice sapphire crystal too. i bought this one last year and it will be arrived at the end of this month due to the shipping problem.
rotary elite reverso
as the name suggest is the homage of the other pricier reverso.
michel herbelin art deco
another french brand from 1947 which im not familiar with. but i like the aesthetic of it.
vario versa
how many microbrands built a dive watch? too many, but how many microbrands built a tank watch? the answer is not much. the versa is one of the most beautiful tank watch under 1000$ in my opinion, it also got a reverse case feature so you can enjoy both side of the dial. however when i wrote this, it is already sold out. i wonder if they would produced more versa in the near future.
lorier zephyr
another beautiful microbrand equipped with miyota mechanical movement, added by other wc member.
hamilton boulton
another beautiful dresswatch with both mechanical and quartz selection. added by other wc member
Bulova sutton
well i think thats all of the tank watch selection which i found on this rabbit hole. so which one did you pick? happy hunting wc. cheers🍺
Considering myself as a man of culture and taste
I am very happy with my Tank Must XL. I got it before the prices went up and at that time it was half the price of the Santos with the same movement. To me it is a perfect dress watch. The dial is amazing and the size works great on my large wrist. It was my first luxury watch and I always wear it to special meetings or presentations at work. It also works great in less formal situations with an oxford shirt and jeans. 🙂 The rotary looks amazing btw. Would be great to hear how it is in person once you get it.
Nice research @Unholy I’ve just ordered the Lorier Zephyr last week. The case and dial just clicked with me. But there are certainly some great affordable alternatives out there!
Thank you for this!
I’ve been on a similar hunt at the moment.
Did you see the Hamilton Boulton?
Thanks for putting this together - nice to have all in one place. I've never seen the FC version before - it looks great, especially in the blue. At first glance, I thought it was this "Prominente" from Curevo y Sobrinos.
You missed the Cellini Prince, but perhaps that was because they are no longer available new.
Incredible piece. Well done!!
I am very happy with my Tank Must XL. I got it before the prices went up and at that time it was half the price of the Santos with the same movement. To me it is a perfect dress watch. The dial is amazing and the size works great on my large wrist. It was my first luxury watch and I always wear it to special meetings or presentations at work. It also works great in less formal situations with an oxford shirt and jeans. 🙂 The rotary looks amazing btw. Would be great to hear how it is in person once you get it.
thx sir. i agree with you too, its one of the perfect dresswatch in my opinion 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Nice research @Unholy I’ve just ordered the Lorier Zephyr last week. The case and dial just clicked with me. But there are certainly some great affordable alternatives out there!
congratulations sir. oh man i almost forgot about the zephyr, they are good looking watch too
Thank you for this!
thx sir, so which one did you plan to buy? 😂😂
I’ve been on a similar hunt at the moment.
Did you see the Hamilton Boulton?
i must forget about this one, thx for reminding me. i would update the article
Thanks for putting this together - nice to have all in one place. I've never seen the FC version before - it looks great, especially in the blue. At first glance, I thought it was this "Prominente" from Curevo y Sobrinos.
You missed the Cellini Prince, but perhaps that was because they are no longer available new.
the fc is sure like the prominente. since it is still avaible i would update the article. thx for the input. i wouldnt include the prince since it is discontinued
I like several of them. I will be buying a Longines Dolce Vita for my wife, she tried one on and really liked it.
You might also check Boluva. They have a couple of nice ones.
just wondering did any of you own lip watch and michel herbelin?
I like several of them. I will be buying a Longines Dolce Vita for my wife, she tried one on and really liked it.
You might also check Boluva. They have a couple of nice ones.
Gorgeous choice sir. I would check on the bulova as well. Thx
Thanks for sharing. Really interesting to see the different variations. I didn’t there were so many! 👏
Man that seiko and the ibso look same at the first glance. Did you remember the seiko reference number? It is hard to fink seiko tank these day (in my country)
SWR052, I did review this (and the IBSO too). I did buy this watch in a high-street shop in Germany for 200 Euros, end of last year.
Not sure this is a tank but it is square. I got this about 25 years ago and still use it.
fingers crossed my friend. and lets hear about the lip churcill review after you got it 🍻
Just got my visa. Flying off to Rome first on Saturday and then to France the Friday after. Will do a review if I get the Lip Churchill.
Just got my visa. Flying off to Rome first on Saturday and then to France the Friday after. Will do a review if I get the Lip Churchill.
nice, have a good trip brother. please mention me on the review, im so curious about that one 🍻
finally got mine, totally worth it
Great post! Been slipping down that rabbit hole myself! Don’t know if it’s the somewhat oddball nature of square watches, or just the inherent class of Art Deco looks, but they’re undoubtedly appealing. I recently got a Bulova Sinatra “Young At Heart(?)” and a Rotary Cambridge. Also been eyeing up that Vario as well (FYI, the website says a new batch is incoming, I went ahead and signed up for updates.)
Great post! Been slipping down that rabbit hole myself! Don’t know if it’s the somewhat oddball nature of square watches, or just the inherent class of Art Deco looks, but they’re undoubtedly appealing. I recently got a Bulova Sinatra “Young At Heart(?)” and a Rotary Cambridge. Also been eyeing up that Vario as well (FYI, the website says a new batch is incoming, I went ahead and signed up for updates.)
nice! my cambridge just came. unfortunately the custom strap is too yellow for me. yours look nice 😍
nice! my cambridge just came. unfortunately the custom strap is too yellow for me. yours look nice 😍
Thanks! And congrats on the new Cambridge! I’m finding it a fun “strap swapper” watch.
Nice research @Unholy I’ve just ordered the Lorier Zephyr last week. The case and dial just clicked with me. But there are certainly some great affordable alternatives out there!
I love the Zephyr! I’m so tempted to get one but I feel like the crown really lets it down. Let me know what you think when it arrives 😁enjoy!
I love the Zephyr! I’m so tempted to get one but I feel like the crown really lets it down. Let me know what you think when it arrives 😁enjoy!
You may be right about that crown. I uhmm jumped off the Lorier train and bought an Oris Artelier date. They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse!
I'm down this rabbit hole right now and this post was just exactly what I needed! That's some amazing research. Thanks !
I'm currently confused between either the Rotary Cambridge (Reverso type) or LIP T18 or LIP T24
I'm down this rabbit hole right now and this post was just exactly what I needed! That's some amazing research. Thanks !
I'm currently confused between either the Rotary Cambridge (Reverso type) or LIP T18 or LIP T24
thx, glad to help. actually i saw herbelin and lip when i got a holiday at paris, both are pretty good from the looks of it. and for the rotary, it is one of the best bang per bucks i ever spent.
I am very happy with my Tank Must XL. I got it before the prices went up and at that time it was half the price of the Santos with the same movement. To me it is a perfect dress watch. The dial is amazing and the size works great on my large wrist. It was my first luxury watch and I always wear it to special meetings or presentations at work. It also works great in less formal situations with an oxford shirt and jeans. 🙂 The rotary looks amazing btw. Would be great to hear how it is in person once you get it.
Hey there! What’s your wrist size? I’m worried a tank watch with dimensions 29x42mm may be too small for my 7” wrist. Would you have wrist shots? Thanks!
thx, glad to help. actually i saw herbelin and lip when i got a holiday at paris, both are pretty good from the looks of it. and for the rotary, it is one of the best bang per bucks i ever spent.
Hey there! I’m interested in getting a rotary Cambridge. What’s your wrist size? I’m a a 7” wrist and I worry the watch may be too small.
Hey there! I’m interested in getting a rotary Cambridge. What’s your wrist size? I’m a a 7” wrist and I worry the watch may be too small.
hello my wrist is 6,5"