While its name may give it away, by appearance the Cartier Tank is not what most would consider a typical military watch. The piece of classic design – this year celebrating its 100th birthday – has its origins in World War I, and the first prototype created by Louis Cartier was presented as a gift to General Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. Sophisticated and elegant, over the decades it has expanded into several distinct variations – the Anglaise, Americaine, Francaise and more – and continues to be the horological hallmark of the French maison.
This macho timepiece was designed to meet the needs of the Royal Italian Navy, with the then-revolutionary use of radium-based powder providing luminosity for the dial. While the initial patent was filed in 1916, the first prototypes wouldn't come into fruition until 1936, with just 10 produced for the navy's First Submarine Group Command. As science progressed, the Radiomir would be superseded by Panerai's other landmark model – the Luminor – in 1949, not least because of the toxicity of the substance from which the Radiomir took its name. Today, its rugged curves and bold dial continues to find favour, reinvented in (radium-free) heritage-inspired and new takes.
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Still one of Blancpain's signature lines, the Fifty Fathoms was launched in 1953, produced at the request of the frogmen of the French navy who required a robust timepiece that would survive their underwater missions. The brand would later supply the US Navy with a version of the quintessential diver's watch, to specifications that for decades would remain hidden under lock and key. Today the options span from the sensible to the sophisticated; look out later this year for a handsome new take on the vintage-inspired Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe.
The Mark X bloodline can be traced back to the 1940s, when IWC was among a handful of brands commissioned by the Ministry of Defence to produce precision timepieces. It would augment into the archetypal aviation watch, procured by the RAF in the post-war period, and continues to be an ongoing source of inspiration for the watchmaker. Its latest guise is the Pilot's Watch Mark XVIII, whose clean, legible and utilitarian design remains faithful to its military origins.
