Visual Description
The 78087 is a small Tank Louis Cartier in 18k yellow gold, about 20.5 mm wide and 28 mm long, with the rounded brancards of the Louis Cartier case and a crown set with a blue cabochon. European Watch Co. gives it as 6.1 mm thick. The white dial carries black Roman numerals and a minute track, and several examples are signed Paris. The hands are blued steel swords. Examples come on leather straps with an 18k yellow gold Cartier folding clasp or a Cartier pin buckle.
Reference Significance
The 78087 is the smaller companion to the Ref. 78086, the 23 × 30 mm hand-wound Tank Louis that Archiva dates c. 1974–1981. Both are 18k yellow gold Tank Louis cases; the size is the difference. Vermot et Associés catalogs the 78087 as the small model.
Historical Context
Sotheby's dates one example circa 1974: a Paris-dial 78087 that Ralph Lauren gave Buffy Birrittella at Christmas 1974, with the date engraved on the case back. Bachmann & Scher sold another with Paris papers of 1974. Vermot et Associés dates one circa 1980, and Monaco Legend and Loupe This date others to the 1980s and 1990s, including a white gold example. No source gives a production count or an end date.
What to Look For
Check that the case back begins 78087 and that the case measures about 20.5 × 28 mm; a 23 × 30 mm case is the 78086. The movement should be hand-wound, cataloged as Cal. 2512 or Cal. 78-1 with 17 jewels. Wind Vintage notes that crazing is common on these Paris dials, so look closely at the dial surface and printing. Note whether the buckle is 18k gold or plated: Bachmann & Scher sold one with a gold-plated Cartier pin buckle.
