What is a Tank Louis Cartier Ref. 1601 worth?

Archiva has found two public sales of Ref. 1601 in the last three years: $22,750 at Phillips Hong Kong in May 2026 and $19,850 at Finarte Milan in December 2024. Two sales are a rough guide, not a market price. One more sale was left out (Salmon-dial limited edition of 70).

What is the Tank Louis Cartier Ref. 1601?

A platinum Tank Louis Cartier: a 23.5 × 30 mm case, about 5.5 mm thick, on the hand-wound Frédéric Piguet Cal. 21 with 17 jewels, with a white or silvered guilloché dial, painted Roman numerals and blued steel hands. Dated examples run from about 1990 to 2000.

How is the 1601 different from the 96019 and 96065?

The metal. The 96019 and 96065 are 18k gold Extra Plates, about 24 × 30 mm and 23 × 30 mm, on movements based on the same Piguet Cal. 21, dated c. 1970–1990 and c. 1980–1990s. The 1601 is in platinum and dated c. 1990–2000. Check the case back and the hallmarks.

What do 1601-1 and 1601 B mean?

Two forms of the same reference. Phillips and Antiquorum print 1601 1 on platinum examples of the 1990s, which Antiquorum and Analog/Shift call pre-CPCP, while Sotheby's, Finarte, Wind Vintage and European Watch Co. print 1601 B on examples of the late 1990s and about 2000, which three of them place in the Collection Privée Cartier Paris. Size, metal and movement are the same. European Watch Co. has also printed the number as 16011.

What should the case back of a 1601 read?

The reference with its suffix and a case number. Catalogs print case numbers such as C52703 and C129772 on 1601 and 1601-1 examples, and Sotheby's printed 002'2CC on a 1601 B. A limited edition example adds its number out of 70, as Antiquorum's 03/70 and Sotheby's 27/70 and 48/70.

What is the limited edition 1601?

An edition of 70 with a salmon sunburst dial, which Sotheby's and Antiquorum describe as made to commemorate Louis-François Cartier. Sotheby's has dated examples circa 1990 and circa 1997, and Antiquorum to the late 1990s.

Cartier · Tank Louis Cartier

Tank Louis Cartier, Platinum

Ref. 1601c. 1990–2000Also cataloged as 1601-1, 1601 B, 16011

The Tank Louis Cartier Ref. 1601 is a 23.5 × 30 mm platinum Tank Louis on the hand-wound Frédéric Piguet Cal. 21, made c. 1990–2000, cataloged as 1601-1 and 1601 B, and issued in a salmon-dial limited edition of 70.

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Two recent sales of Ref. 1601

May 2026Phillips Hong KongLot 840, Hong Kong Watch Auction XXII, 30 May 2026. 23.5 x 30 mm, platinum, cal. 21 manual wind, service invoice.$22,750
Dec 2024Finarte MilanFine Watches, lot 83, 16 Dec 2024. Tank Louis Cartier CPCP, platinum, n.0020, 1990s. Price includes buyer's premium.$19,850

Two sales are a rough guide. One more sale was left out (Salmon-dial limited edition of 70). See them in the calculator.

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Specifications

Reference: 1601; Platinum, manual-wind, Frédéric Piguet Cal. 21
Year: c. 1990–2000; Sotheby's dates one example circa 1990 and Antiquorum one circa 1991; Sotheby's dates a 1601 B circa 2000. Antiquorum has also dated one to the 1980s
Movement: Manual-wind; Frédéric Piguet Cal. 21, 17 jewels; Antiquorum and Amsterdam Vintage Watches give it as Cal. 021 MC
Case: 23.5 × 30 mm, Platinum
Dial: White or silvered guilloché; Painted black Roman numerals; the limited edition of 70 has a salmon sunburst dial
Hands: Blued steel; Sword-shaped
Strap: Leather; Alligator or crocodile strap, most often on an 18k white gold Cartier deployant clasp

Visual Description

The 1601 is a Tank Louis Cartier in platinum, about 23.5 mm wide and 30 mm long, with the rounded brancards of the Louis Cartier case. European Watch Co. and Amsterdam Vintage Watches give it as 5.5 mm thick. The dial is white or silvered with a guilloché pattern and painted black Roman numerals, crossed by blued steel sword hands, and the crown carries a sapphire cabochon. Sotheby's describes the back as secured by four screws. Most examples come on an alligator or crocodile strap with an 18k white gold Cartier deployant clasp.

The limited edition has a salmon sunburst dial in place of the white one.

Reference Significance

The 1601 is the platinum Tank Louis of the 1990s. It shares its movement family with the gold Extra Plates Ref. 96019 and Ref. 96065: the hand-wound Frédéric Piguet Cal. 21, which Finarte and Wind Vintage name outright and Antiquorum catalogs as Cartier's Cal. 021 MC.

Catalogs print the number three ways. The 1601-1 is what Antiquorum, Analog/Shift and Amsterdam Vintage Watches call pre-CPCP; the 1601 B is what Finarte, Wind Vintage and European Watch Co. place in the Collection Privée Cartier Paris. The watch itself is the same in size, metal and movement.

Historical Context

Sotheby's dates one example circa 1990 and Antiquorum another circa 1991; Phillips, Antiquorum and Finarte date others to the 1990s, and Sotheby's dates a 1601 B circa 2000. One Antiquorum lot was dated to the 1980s, but its case number sits in the same series as the later 1601 B examples, so the page does not start the range there.

The limited edition of 70, with its salmon dial, commemorates Louis-François Cartier according to Sotheby's and Antiquorum. No source gives a production count for the standard 1601.

What to Look For

Confirm the reference and the platinum hallmarks on the case back, then the movement: a hand-wound Cal. 21 or 021 MC with 17 jewels. A gold case or a quartz movement means a different reference. The case is thin, so heavy polishing shows quickly on the brancards; Wind Vintage describes its example's case as unpolished.

On a limited edition, the number out of 70 should be on the case and the dial should be salmon. Check that the clasp is 18k white gold Cartier where the watch is described as complete.

Known Variants

Documented dial, case, and bracelet variations of Ref. 1601.

White or Silvered Guilloché Dial

The standard dial: white or silvered guilloché with painted black Roman numerals and blued steel sword hands, as Phillips, Antiquorum and Analog/Shift describe their 1601-1 examples. Amsterdam Vintage Watches describes a Paris signature at 6 o'clock on its example.

1990sDocumented at auction and by dealers

Limited Edition of 70, Salmon Dial

A salmon sunburst dial, numbered on the case out of 70. Sotheby's and Antiquorum describe the edition as made to commemorate Louis-François Cartier; Antiquorum's example adds a Louis Cartier signature arched above the center.

c. 1990–late 1990sEdition of 70; documented by Sotheby's and Antiquorum

1601 B

The same platinum case and Cal. 21 cataloged with a B suffix. Finarte, Wind Vintage and European Watch Co. place it in the Collection Privée Cartier Paris (CPCP); Sotheby's dates one circa 2000 and European Watch Co. sold one with papers dated 1999.

Late 1990s to c. 2000Documented at auction and by dealers

How to tell it apart

What separates a Ref. 1601 from its neighbors, and what to check before you buy or sell one.

What is a Tank Louis Cartier Ref. 1601 worth?: Archiva has found two public sales of Ref. 1601 in the last three years: $22,750 at Phillips Hong Kong in May 2026 and $19,850 at Finarte Milan in December 2024. Two sales are a rough guide, not a market price. One more sale was left out (Salmon-dial limited edition of 70).
What is the Tank Louis Cartier Ref. 1601?: A platinum Tank Louis Cartier: a 23.5 × 30 mm case, about 5.5 mm thick, on the hand-wound Frédéric Piguet Cal. 21 with 17 jewels, with a white or silvered guilloché dial, painted Roman numerals and blued steel hands. Dated examples run from about 1990 to 2000.
How is the 1601 different from the 96019 and 96065?: The metal. The 96019 and 96065 are 18k gold Extra Plates, about 24 × 30 mm and 23 × 30 mm, on movements based on the same Piguet Cal. 21, dated c. 1970–1990 and c. 1980–1990s. The 1601 is in platinum and dated c. 1990–2000. Check the case back and the hallmarks.
What do 1601-1 and 1601 B mean?: Two forms of the same reference. Phillips and Antiquorum print 1601 1 on platinum examples of the 1990s, which Antiquorum and Analog/Shift call pre-CPCP, while Sotheby's, Finarte, Wind Vintage and European Watch Co. print 1601 B on examples of the late 1990s and about 2000, which three of them place in the Collection Privée Cartier Paris. Size, metal and movement are the same. European Watch Co. has also printed the number as 16011.
What should the case back of a 1601 read?: The reference with its suffix and a case number. Catalogs print case numbers such as C52703 and C129772 on 1601 and 1601-1 examples, and Sotheby's printed 002'2CC on a 1601 B. A limited edition example adds its number out of 70, as Antiquorum's 03/70 and Sotheby's 27/70 and 48/70.
What is the limited edition 1601?: An edition of 70 with a salmon sunburst dial, which Sotheby's and Antiquorum describe as made to commemorate Louis-François Cartier. Sotheby's has dated examples circa 1990 and circa 1997, and Antiquorum to the late 1990s.