The present Tank à Vis takes inspiration from one of the rarest vintage Cartier Tank models, the Tank Étanche. According to horological lore, in the 1930s, the Pasha of Marrakech requested a water-resistant watch to wear while swimming in his pool. Cartier responded with a three-part Tank design, featuring an interior cover for the movement and a screw-down crown. The rectangular case's angles made the construction complex, and it was aptly named "étanche," the French word for "waterproof."

In the late 1990s, Cartier's Privée Collection Paris introduced a modernized version of the Tank Étanche, known as the Tank à Vis, offering three complications: time-only, wandering hours, and dual time. This present lot is the wandering hours variation, certainly the most mechanically interesting out of the three, which features a creative time display method developed by the Campani brothers in the 1600s for the Pope's clock. The mechanism displays time using rotating discs instead of traditional hands, which is both visually appealing and mechanically intriguing. The curved aperture at 12 o’clock shows the wandering hours disc, while the minutes are indicated by a blued central hand. Powered by the ultra-thin calibre 9902MC, it is beautifully decorated and visible through a display case back.

Encased in white gold and featuring a dial that is engine-turned with a beautiful rosette flower motif, the symbol for watches from the limited Cartier Paris Collection Privée (CPCP) line, the present lot is preserved in excellent overall condition and comes with its original certificate and Cartier presentation box.