A fake Must de Cartier Tank is a watch built to look like a Cartier Tank Must but not made or sold by Cartier. The name points at two different references: the vintage Must de Cartier Tank, sold from the late 1970s into the 2000s in a vermeil case, and the steel Tank Must that Cartier reissued in 2021. Both are copied. Copies sell for about $60 to $400. Cartier does not service them, and no Cartier boutique authenticates them.
Two watches share the name
The vintage Must de Cartier line used a case of 925 sterling silver plated with 18k gold. Cartier calls that metal vermeil. Dials used lacquer. The movement was quartz. Case widths ran about 20 mm to 25 mm, and lug width sat near 20 mm. The line ended in the 2000s.
The 2021 Tank Must uses a steel case. Cartier lists a Small at 29.5 x 22 mm, a Large at 33.7 x 25.5 mm, and a Solarbeat Large at the same size. All three measure 6.6 mm thick. Cartier sets retail prices, and they change by year and market, so check the current figure with an authorized dealer.
What a replica gets wrong
- Case metal. Genuine vintage Must cases carry Swiss assay marks, a 925 stamp, and a gold plating mark. Copies use brass or 316L steel and show no marks or shallow stamps.
- Crown. Cartier fits a blue cabochon. Copies use glass or plastic, and the color shifts toward purple or gray.
- Dial print. Genuine lacquer dials have sharp Roman numerals and clean text. Copies show thick print, uneven spacing, and misaligned numerals.
- Movement. Vintage Must watches use quartz, so a battery movement proves nothing. Copies use generic quartz. The Solarbeat version uses a photovoltaic movement with perforated Roman numerals that let light reach the cells under the dial. A copy with a solid dial is not a Solarbeat.
- Weight. Vermeil is silver. Silver, steel, and brass have different densities. A scale can help, but the result means little without a known genuine reference on hand. Most buyers do not have one.
- Serial numbers. Many vintage Must watches show no visible serial. A number on the caseback does not confirm a Cartier origin.
US legal facts
Trafficking in counterfeit goods is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 2320, with prison terms and fines. U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizes counterfeit watches at ports of entry. The personal-use exemption for trademarked goods does not cover counterfeit items, so an imported copy can be destroyed and the buyer can face a penalty. Trademark owners can sue sellers for damages under the Lanham Act.
Value and service
A replica has no collector market and no resale channel. Cartier and its authorized repair network do not service fakes. Independent watchmakers may refuse the job or may not find parts. A genuine vintage Must de Cartier Tank trades on the secondary market in the hundreds to low thousands of dollars, based on case metal, dial condition, and box and papers. The 2021 steel Tank Must holds value closer to its retail price when it has a full set.
Short answers
- Is the fake the same watch? No. Same shape at best.
- Does the fake use real gold? No. Plating, if any, sits on brass or steel.
- Can I tell from photos? Some signs show, such as crown color and dial print. Case hallmarks need a loupe or a jeweler.
- Will a jeweler verify it? Not all will. Cartier boutiques do not authenticate watches.
Facts I cannot confirm from public data: the weight of any given replica batch and the factory that made it. Both change by seller.