Hello Nicky,
Thank you for sending in your Cartier wristwatch to mearto.com for an appraisal. I shall try to help you with that today.
TITLE:
Lady’s, yellow gold-plated Sterling silver (Vermeil), quartz wristwatch with a black leather strap and Cartier gold-plated buckle, 'Vendome Quartz' model, made by Cartier, Switzerland, circa 1980. . .
DESCRIPTION:
Case: 24 mm diameter, two leaf, polished Vermeil with rounded bezel, Vendome lugs with screwed bars, cabochon sapphire-set crown, case back with two screws and marked for 'Must de Cartier' but all other markings in the photos are illegible. . .
Dial: Royal blue dial with git 'Epee' sword hands and the dial marked, “Must de Cartier with a double crossed ‘C’ logo and Swiss at the base of the dial. . .
Movement: With quartz standardization made in Switzerland. Dial, case and movement are triple signed. . .
Condition: This is the prime issue here since none of the photos are clear. I cannot read anything written on the face or the back of the watch. We know there is chip in the sapphire cabochon and we know that the watch is not working. I will assume that the remainder of the watch is in good-very good condition for this appraisal. . .
HISTORICAL - Must de Cartier history:
In 1965, Pierre Cartier died and the brand was no longer the possession of the Cartier Family. The resurgence of Cartier came up during the 1970s, under the direction of Robert Hocq and Joseph Kanoui. They opened new markets and brought something quite new at that time, marketing. Robert Hocq and CEO Alain Dominique Perrin developed a new concept: “Les Must de Cartier”, with the clear intention to attract new customers. The Tank really was the central point of the whole collection and became the most important model of the new strategy.
The main change brought by this new collection was the introduction of a new material (for Cartier): Vermeil. For “Les Must de Cartier”, cases were made in sterling silver plated with 20 microns gold. Another major change were the movements, no longer relying on the mechanical beauty but using the precise quartz technology. However, the basic shape of the Cartier Tank was still there and faithful to the early editions: rectangular case, blue hands, Roman numerals and Sapphire cabochon crown were always part of the 1970s and 1980s editions. A part of the collection “Les Must de Cartier” was though using different dials, without the Roman Numerals. Those editions were coming with colorful faces – plain red, blue or black dials. Those were more fashion accessories than proper horology. But they were a big success for the brand.
The Must de Cartier models are now an affordable first step in the myth of Cartier. You can easily find them around 500Euros to 700 Euros in worn condition, and around 1.000Eur for a very well preserved quartz or manual edition. Of course, these are the prices of Vermeil models. A solid gold or platinum Cartier tank will be higher. But a Tank will always be up-to-date, regardless the production date, the shape or the movement. This is also the reason why Cartier introduced during the last 30 years so many editions, always providing some novelty to a very classical watch. In 1989, the Tank Americaine came out with a long and curved case, bringing back the handsome shape of the Tank Cintrée – in a waterproof case, something that the 1920s edition couldn’t achieve. The first waterproof Cartier tank was a 1931 made upon request for the Pasha of Marrakech. . .
Looking at prices of similar watches selling at auction and made by Cartier for their “Must” line during the 1980s and 1990s, a perfect example of this watch would sell today at auction for about $350-$400. With the chipped cabochon and non-functional movement and the rest of the watch in good-very good condition that fair market value will fall to the $225-$275 range. Retail prices will, of course be somewhat higher.
I hope this information has been of some help to you.
My best,
David