Big Wrists Only! 100 Years of Cartier with the Limited Edition Cartier Tank Americaine XL W260559
Posted by OJ Whatley on Jun 7th 2023
On April 30th 2009, Cartier celebrated the 100th anniversary of doing business in North America with the release of 2 ultra-rare and limited-production Cartier watches. Each anniversary watch featured a commemorative '100 years Anniversary of Cartier in USA 1909 - 2009' logo composed of an interlocking heart and diamond with the words ‘US’ in the Heart. This ‘interlocking heart’ logo was featured on the dial and case back of each special edition watch.
Cartier's 'Interlocking Heart' logo would be very short-lived and appear on only 2 special edition Cartier reference models. The theme for the 100 Years of doing busness in the US seemed to be ‘bigger is better’ as both of these limited production special edition watches were made in significantly larger case sizes than their predecessor models had ever seen. Both of the Cartier Anniversary models were made in extremely limited quantities and were completely sold out upon release.
Cartier Roadster XL Blue Time/Date - Ref W6206012
The first commemorative watch to be released was the XL Cartier Roadster Automatic Ref W6206012 in stainless steel. Made in a 1-time special edition of only 800 pieces and featuring an eye-catching and never before seen Blue Sunburst dial. This would be the first and only time a Sunburst blue dial was available on a Cartier Roadster of any size or variation. The Interlocking heart logo was discreetly wallpapered in the center of the dial almost in holographic form and nearly impossible to see fashion, although in the right light and at the right angle, it shimmered like a diamond. Equally as unique and rare as the Blue Sunburst dial was the fact that this watch represented the first (and only known) example of an XL Roadster case(previously reserved exclusively for GMT and Chronograph models ) that hosted a time and date (only) complication in its XL 47.6mm X 42.8mm stainless steel case. This was groundbreaking and never repeated in the history of the Cartier Roadster to date. Each watch was individually numbered on the case back xxx/800.
Cartier Tank Americaine XL Automatic (Time Only) - Ref W260559
The second commemorative watch to be released was the Cartier Tank Americaine XL Automatic (Time Only) - Ref W260559 in 18k white gold. This watch would represent the largest Tank Americaine XL case ever made in a staggering 52mm height by 32mm diameter and the most limited release of the 2 special edition watches. The predecessor and current large Tank Americaine models feature a scale-down case size measuring a more manageable 45mm in height and 26mm in diameter.
The Tank Americaine XL was made in a scant 40 pieces with each watch being individually numbered and featuring the interlocking heart logo on the case back. Additionally, this watch featured a Guilloche Silver dial with the ‘Interlocking heart’ logo wallpapered in the center of the dial. The ‘interlocking heart’ logo is in a contrasting color to the dial and thus much more visible than on the Roadster special edition model. Interestingly, this Cartier XL Tank American Watch with mechanical automatic movement was made without a date indication. This was an abrupt departure from the previous and current Tank Americaine Large automatic models.
The Cartier 100 years in USA special edition watches rarely come up for sale. Simply put there just are not many out there in circulation and very rarely are available for sale in unworn condition and complete with all the original boxes and papers. With a production number of only 40 pieces, the XL Tank Americaine is significantly more rare than the Roadster model which was made in 800 pieces.
Keeping in mind this watches astounding dimensions you should only be buying this if you have a 7.25-7.5 inch wrist or larger. It's that big!