During Watches & Wonders Geneva 2021, Cartier surprised everyone by the announcement of their first solar powered watch – the Cartier Tank Must 'SolarBeat' Steel Watch Replica. Be creative, lead the fashion trend instead of following the trend, and have the decision to fashion or not in a supposedly unshakable world Ability is eternal. This is the DNA of Cartier. From generation to generation, the two permanent characteristics of the brand still exist-surprise and surprise! Cartier Tank Must SolarBeat replica is a typical example.
The Case
They said, if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, it's a duck. The Cartier Tank SolarBeat replica looks like a Tank, feels like a Tank, and wears like a Tank. It is, in fact, basically identical to a gold Tank Louis Cartier when you put it on, to a degree that I was not expecting – my big worry as a lifelong Tank fan was that it would feel immediately like Cartier was knocking off Cartier but that turned out to not be the case.
One of the things that has always amazed me about the Tank, is how many different models there are that all still manage to look and feel like Tanks. The Tank SolarBeat replica is basically a steel, solar-powered version of the Tank Louis Cartier and it looks every inch a part of that proud lineage the minute you take it out of the box. In fact, if you didn't know ahead of time it was a SolarBeat, you might easily mistake it for a mechanical Tank Louis Cartier in steel (which would be an amazing thing to see in its own right).
To recap, the Cartier SolarBeat Tank Must replica watch has small perforations in the black Roman numerals providing the openings through which the light can reach the cells.
The new SolarBeat is in a stainless steel case and available in either 33mm x 25.5mm (large model) or 29.5mm x 22mm (small). Cartier says that it is anticipated that it will take 16 years before the quartz SolarBeat needs servicing/ the cell needs to be checked. The straps, in black, blue, or light green, are produced from apple scrap by-products.
The Dial
On the wrist, it's a virtually indistinguishable experience from wearing a gold Tank Louis Cartier copy. It's very easy to wear and shares the Tank LC's ability to almost disappear on the wrist. There are of course some differences – the SolarBeat's dial is a little less elaborately executed than the Tank LC but the difference is barely noticeable even with the two watches side by side. The SolarBeat Tank Must replica has small perforations in the black Roman numerals providing the openings through which the light can reach the cells.
The Movement
The heart of the SolarBeat is a new Cartier quartz movement, powered by light, which Cartier says should run for at least 16 years before its rechargeable battery needs to be replaced. The only parts of the dial which let light through to the photovoltaic cell underneath, are the numerals. This is a neat trick – it probably doesn't hurt that the watch only has to update the positions of the hour and minute hands, so energy costs for actually moving something are pretty low.
Aesthetically, it means that you have a dial which is indistinguishable from a traditional Tank Louis Cartier dial, right down to the secret signature.
