Cartier · Tank Normale

Tank Normale, 18k Yellow Gold

Ref. 78092c. 1970s–1980s

The Cartier Tank Normale Ref. 78092 is a 23 × 30 mm 18k yellow gold Tank of c. 1970s–1980s, hand-wound on the Cartier Cal. 78-1, whose flat, squared brancards set it apart from the same-size Tank Louis Cartier Ref. 78086.

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Specifications

Reference
78092
Squared brancards, 18k yellow gold, manual wind
Year
c. 1970s–1980s
Lyon & Turnbull dates the launch to 1973, in the Louis Cartier Collection; Sotheby's dates one example c. 1970, Craft + Tailored and Wind Vintage date examples to the 1980s, and no source gives a closing date
Movement
Manual-wind
Cartier Cal. 78-1, 17 jewels
Case
23 × 30 mm, 18k Yellow Gold
Rectangular, with flat, squared brancards and sharp chamfered edges; case back secured by four screws
Dial
White
Black Roman numerals and a railroad minute track, signed Paris or Swiss at 6 o'clock; the hidden signature at VII appears on some examples, not all
Hands
Blued steel
Sword-shaped
Crystal
Mineral glass
Mineral glass per Bachmann & Scher and glass per Craft + Tailored; Analog/Shift describes an acrylic crystal on its example, and Hairspring calls the crystal faceted
Strap
Leather
Crocodile or alligator strap with an 18k gold Cartier deployant clasp; Wind Vintage has sold an example on a bracelet

Visual Description

The Ref. 78092 is a rectangular 18k yellow gold Tank of about 23 × 30 mm. Its sides are the brancards, the parallel bars that run past the dial to form the lugs, and on the Normale they are flat on top with sharp, chamfered edges. European Watch Co. calls them straight brancards, and Phillips, cataloging an unpolished example, singled out their sharp, well defined chamfers. European Watch Co. gives a thickness of 6.1 mm.

The dial is white with black Roman numerals and a railroad minute track, signed Paris or Swiss at 6 o'clock, under blued steel sword hands. The crown is set with a sapphire cabochon that dealers describe as faceted or octagonal. The case back is secured by four screws, and Lyon & Turnbull's example carries French assay marks. Most cataloged examples sit on a crocodile or alligator strap with an 18k gold Cartier deployant clasp; Wind Vintage has sold one on a bracelet.

Reference Significance

The 78092 is the Tank Normale of the 1970s and 1980s, the reference auction houses and dealers catalog under that name, and it carries the original Tank's flat, squared brancards into the era of the Cal. 78-1. Its closest neighbor in this archive is the Tank Louis Cartier Ref. 78086: the same 23 × 30 mm size in 18k gold and the same hand-wound Cal. 78-1, but with brancards rounded on the outer edge where the Normale's are squared, the difference Analog/Shift draws between the two models.

Lyon & Turnbull writes that the model was made in very limited numbers and suggests it was less popular than the more refined Tank Louis, hence its rarity today. Case numbers pair 78092 with a four-digit serial. Sotheby's recorded 780'920'801 and Monaco Legend 780920603, Phillips cataloged case number 1659 and Craft + Tailored lists a serial of 2XXX, and Hairspring calls its white gold example, going by serial, the ninth made.

Historical Context

Louis Cartier designed the Tank in 1917, and Sotheby's dates its official release to 1919. The Normale is that original form, the watch Analog/Shift calls the very first Tank. The Tank Louis Cartier, with its rounded brancards, followed in the early 1920s; Analog/Shift dates it to 1922.

Lyon & Turnbull writes that Cartier launched the 78092 in 1973 as part of the Louis Cartier Collection of twelve watches, based on the original Cartier Paris Tank with a slightly thicker case and wider sides, and notes that the same model, attributed to 1973, is illustrated in The Cartier Collection: Timepieces (Flammarion, 2006). Sotheby's dates one example to about 1970, a little before that launch date. Other catalogs run through the late 1970s (Loupe This) to the 1980s (Craft + Tailored and Wind Vintage). Monaco Legend dates one example to the 1990s, later than any other record, and no source gives a closing date, so this page dates the reference c. 1970s–1980s.

Dials were signed Paris or Swiss. Phillips, which sold a Swiss-signed example in New York in June 2026, writes that the Swiss signature identifies a watch originally distributed through Cartier's New York boutique, and that Paris-signed dials are the more commonly seen.

What to Look For

Read the case number first. It should begin 78092; a 78086 is the Tank Louis Cartier, and a 78093 the smaller Tank Normale. Then look along the brancards. They should be flat on top with crisp, even chamfers. Polishing softens them toward the rounded profile of the Tank Louis Cartier, and that cannot be put back.

Measure the case: about 23 × 30 mm, though catalogs record widths from 22 to 23 mm. Inside should be the hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1. The dial should be white with black Roman numerals and a railroad track, signed Paris or Swiss at 6 o'clock. The hidden signature at VII is present on some examples and absent on others: Phillips catalogs one with it, and Amsterdam Vintage Watches writes that it appears only from the Mark III execution.

Dealers also read the crown, which should carry a faceted sapphire cabochon. Bachmann & Scher describes an early sapphire crown on what it calls an MK1, from the first batch of the 1970s, and Amsterdam Vintage Watches identifies its Mark II by a short, sharp-cut cabochon sapphire. Finally, check the four case-back screws, the French assay marks and the clasp: most cataloged examples came with a signed 18k gold Cartier deployant clasp.

Known Variants

Documented dial, case, and bracelet variations of Ref. 78092.

18k Yellow Gold, Paris Dial

White dial with black Roman numerals and a railroad minute track, signed Paris at 6 o'clock, as on examples offered by Loupe This, Craft + Tailored and Bachmann & Scher. Phillips calls Paris-signed dials the more commonly seen.

c. 1970s–1980sThe more common dial, per Phillips

18k Yellow Gold, Swiss Dial

The same dial signed Swiss at 6 o'clock. Phillips, cataloging one with the hidden signature at VII, writes that the Swiss signature identifies a watch originally distributed through Cartier's New York boutique; Analog/Shift has also sold a Swiss-signed example.

1970sLess common than the Paris dial, per Phillips

18k White Gold

The 78092 case in white gold. Amsterdam Vintage Watches sold a mid-1970s example with an 18k white gold folding clasp, and Hairspring has offered a Paris-signed example with its original white gold buckle, which it describes as a bespoke order by a Cartier boutique employee.

1970sTwo examples documented in the sources consulted

Two-Tone Art Deco Dial

Amsterdam Vintage Watches has offered an 18k yellow gold 78092 with a two-tone Art Deco style dial in place of Roman numerals and a chemin de fer track, a style it says is more often found on a smaller quartz version. No other source we opened records this dial on a 78092.

One example documented in the sources consulted

How to tell it apart

What separates a Ref. 78092 from its neighbors, and what to check before you buy or sell one.

What is the Cartier Tank Normale Ref. 78092?

The Tank Normale of the 1970s and 1980s: an 18k yellow gold case of about 23 × 30 mm with flat, squared brancards, a white dial with black Roman numerals signed Paris or Swiss, blued steel sword hands, a faceted sapphire cabochon crown and the hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1. Lyon & Turnbull dates its launch to 1973, in the Louis Cartier Collection.

How do I tell a Tank Normale 78092 from a Tank Louis Cartier 78086?

Read the case number first: a Normale's begins 78092, like the 780'920'801 Sotheby's recorded. Then look at the brancards. The Normale's are flat on top with sharp, chamfered edges, which European Watch Co. calls straight brancards; the Tank Louis Cartier's are rounded on the outer edge, as Analog/Shift describes. Size and movement will not settle it: both are about 23 × 30 mm in 18k gold on the hand-wound Cal. 78-1.

What movement is in the 78092?

The hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1 with 17 jewels, named by Phillips, Loupe This, European Watch Co. and Bachmann & Scher. Sotheby's and Monaco Legend catalog the movement as cal. 2512, consistent with the ETA 2512-1 base that Archiva records for the Cal. 78-1 on its Tank Louis Cartier 78086 page. A quartz movement in a case numbered 78092 is not original.

Is the 78092 the same as the Tank Normale Ref. 78093?

No. The 78093 is the smaller Tank Normale, about 20 × 28 mm against the 78092's 23 × 30 mm. Analog/Shift, Amsterdam Vintage Watches, Monaco Legend and Antiquorum have offered it in yellow and white gold, one of them with a diamond-set case, and Antiquorum records its caliber as 67. A case number that begins 78093 belongs to the smaller watch.

Was the 78092 made in white gold?

Yes, rarely. Amsterdam Vintage Watches sold a mid-1970s example with an 18k white gold folding clasp, and Hairspring has offered a Paris-signed example that it describes as a bespoke order by a Cartier boutique employee and, going by serial, the ninth made in the reference.

What should I check before buying a Ref. 78092?

Flat brancards with sharp, even chamfers, since polishing rounds them first; a case number that begins 78092; a case of about 23 × 30 mm with four screws on the back; a white dial with black Roman numerals and a railroad track, signed Paris or Swiss at 6 o'clock; a faceted sapphire cabochon crown; the hand-wound Cartier Cal. 78-1; and a signed 18k gold Cartier deployant clasp.
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