Is The Cartier Tank Must A Limited Edition?
The popular launch of Cartiers new take on the Tank Must took place in the summer of 2021. The launch of the Cartier Tank Must was a huge success and a lot of attention was paid to the company from watch enthusiasts all over the world. Quite early on rumors started to get out that the colorful Tank Musts in red, blue, and green, was a limited edition, or a limited run, but there were no official answers from Cartier themselves if the colorful Tank Musts were a limited edition or not. In this article, we’ll cover the topic and give you the answer.
The Different Watches & Pricing
- Cartier Tank Must WSTA0056 with a green leather strap and dial.
- Cartier Tank Must WSTA0055 with a blue leather strap and dial.
- Cartier Tank Must WSTA0054 with a red leather strap and dial.
Apart from the colorful Tank Musts, which only were available in one size, Cartier launched a Tank Must in three different sizes, just like the Tank Solo which got replaced by the Tank Must, which had a white dial with Cartier’s signature black roman numerals on the dial. What quickly got out as a rumor was that the colorful Tank Musts were a limited run, only to be produced in a small number of batches and that the “ordinary” white dial Tank Must was to be manufactured forever. The affordable Tank Must is sold for €2800 EUR in stores, and at the time of the release, it was originally sold for €2740 EUR. The demand for the watches was quite excessive which in the beginning caused the demand to be higher than the supply. This made it a hard-to-get watch in the beginning, and the prices on the second-hand market were way over the recommended retail price, what also affected the price on the second-hand market was the rumor, which was not declined nor confirmed by Cartier, that the watches were a limited run.
What also contributed to the rumor is that it is confirmed that Official Retailers and Cartiers own stores’ sales staff told customers that the watch was a limited edition, and in some stores, special signs were placed with the watches in the display windows read “Edition Limitée”, or “Limited Edition”, but nothing could be read online from Cartier that these watches were a limited edition or a limited run only manufactured in small batches for a small period of time. All this caused a lot of confusion, which lead many to believe that these watches were indeed a limited edition.
A few months after the release of the Tank Must, the colorful configurations were still delivered to Authorized Retailers and Cartiers own stores, and as of now in March 2022, these watches can more often than not, be seen in a display window at many Cartier Authorized Retailers, and also in Cartiers own boutiques, which naturally questions whether these watches were limited or not, as they still, almost a year later, still is delivered and available in stores.
Is The Cartier Tank Must A Limited Edition Watch?
In March 2022, it is still not declined nor confirmed by Cartier whether the colorful configurations of the Cartier Tank Must is a Limited Edition watch or not. However, what we do know, is that there is no text that can be read on their website, and not even on the watch, that confirms that it indeed is a limited edition watch. As these watches continue to get delivered to Authorized Retailers, and still can be ordered online from Cartiers website, it all indicates that these watches are not part of a limited manufacturing run, nor part of a limited edition series.
Further Thoughts On The Topic & Brands Positioning
To discuss this topic and question further, it is interesting to think about what the hype that was created did for Cartier as a brand, and why Cartier did not take better care of the publicity that the brand got so fast. In the summer of 2021, when these watches were presented, it was a topic discussed by watch enthusiasts all over the world on any sort of platform related to watches. At the time, it was “the” hottest watch, and the amount of publicity Cartier got was enormous. But by continuing the manufacturing of the sought after watches, it became more and more of a flop for Cartier as the watches, when they started to become available for anyone, and the supply exceeded the demand, automatically started to lose interest, and eventually, the hype that was created around the watches were gone.
Whilst discussing the topic, in theory, it must have been better for Cartier to limit the supply of the colorful Tank Musts, and play their part as the market thought they already did. Creating hype for a specific model does not only benefit the specific model but also the brand in general. However, despite whether the launch and rumor of the limited edition Tank Musts were a flip or a flop, Cartier still remains a brand that has a lot of interest, with models which are hard to obtain by just walking in the store, so by analyzing the whole “limited edition” rumor it is safe to say that the campaign did not turn out in the best possible way as it could have, but that it left a better impact on the company in general which benefits them greater in the bigger picture.
Question!
What do you think about the Cartier Tank Must?
