Visual Description
The Ref. 17011 is a Tank Louis Cartier in a larger case with a self-winding movement, though smaller than the 17002. Its 18k yellow gold case measures about 25.5 × 33 mm, and the crown is set with a blue sapphire cabochon. The white dial carries black Roman numerals and Cartier's hidden signature in the VII; Sotheby's and Craft + Tailored have handled dials signed Paris, and Craft + Tailored one signed Swiss. The hands are blued.
Turned over, the case shows room made for the movement: the back is secured by four screws and rises at the center in what Craft + Tailored calls a bubble, made to fit around the movement. Examples have come on Cartier leather or alligator straps with an 18k yellow gold Cartier tang buckle or deployant clasp.
Reference Significance
The 17011 is the smaller of two automatic Tank Louis Jumbos. Craft + Tailored describes the design as made in two sizes, the Jumbo 17011 and the larger Jumbo XL Ref. 17002, which Antiquorum catalogs at 28 × 35 mm on the Cartier Cal. 170. Sotheby's catalogs the 17011 as a Tank Louis Automatique with an ETA 2670 inside. Both references put a self-winding movement in a Tank Louis case.
Historical Context
Sotheby's writes that these larger Tanks were made only for a brief period in the 1970s and dates its 17011 circa 1970; Craft + Tailored also places the reference in a short 1970s run. Later dates appear as well: Antiquorum catalogs one circa 1980 and Monaco Legend one to the 1980s. No source we opened gives a start or end year, so the page dates the reference c. 1970s–1980s.
What to Look For
Start with the case back. It should be screwed down with four screws and raised at the center, and engraved with 17011 and the serial run together, as on Monaco Legend's 17011006. A number beginning 17002 marks the larger Jumbo. Measure the case: about 25.5 × 33 mm is a 17011, about 28 × 35 mm a 17002.
Check that the movement is self-winding and ETA-based; Antiquorum's caliber number differs from Sotheby's, so a photograph of the movement settles what is inside. On the dial, look for black Roman numerals, the hidden signature in the VII and a Paris or Swiss signature, all crisply printed. The crown should carry a blue sapphire cabochon.
