Cartier CPCP Tortue Day & Night XL

Though Cartier has produced some fine mechanical watches during its 170 year history (such as the perennial favorite, the Tank Louis Cartier), by the 1990s the brand was known primarily as a producer of quartz watches. In an effort to rejuvenate their status as a premier manufacture, in 1998 Cartier launched the Collection Privée Cartier Paris, or CPCP for short. The Collection Privée resurrected classic wristwatch designs from the Cartier archives and utilized high-grade mechanical movements from the likes of Piaget, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Girard-Perregaux. 

Conceived in the 1920s, the Torture featured an entirely different silhouette than that of the more traditional Tank. While their Tank collection grew to include a number of shapes (Française, Louis, Cintrée or Basculante, just to name a few), the Tortue stood out with its sensuous curves that lent themselves well to many different watches — from time-only models to more involved complications — this Cartier Tortue Day & Night (or, pardon our French, the Jour et Noit), is an example of the latter.

This example, a Reference W1553651, features an upsized 38mm x 48mm 18k white gold case, a curved sapphire crystal and an octagonal crown sporting Cartier's signature sapphire inset. We’ve waxed poetic about the case lines, but the dial is just as captivating. Adorned with guilloché finishing, the silver-tone dial is home to printed Roman indices, blued-steel Breguet hands and a day/night aperture that has the most whimsical rotating display we’ve ever seen on a serialized production piece from the maison.

Powered by a manual-winding Calibre 9904 movement visible through a sapphire aperture equipped with travel-friendly jump-hour hand, this piece comes fitted to a signed black alligator leather strap with an 18k white gold deployant buckle. Perfectly balancing traditional design and playful artistry, this piece perfectly encapsulates everything collectors love about the Privee Collection.

In beautiful professionally detailed condition and sized for larger wrists, this one will go fast for sure!

Despite being a purveyor of haute joaillerie, Cartier has had a long tradition of making watches.
It started in 1907, when founder Louis Cartier made what was one of the first wristwatches for his friend Alberto Santos-Dumont. In the following years, the brand made a name for itself with its most famous wristwatch, the Tank, in all its multitudinous forms.

Cartier introduced the Tank in 1917 — which was supposedly inspired by the Renault FT-17 tanks seen on the battlefields of World War I — with a run of six pieces. (According to legend, these were given to American General John J. Pershing and his staff.) Cartier took the look of the Renault tank's treads and applied it to the watch’s lugs, which were integrated via brancards into the case itself. That first run of six pieces increased to thirty-three by 1920, and by the end of the 20th Century, that number stood well in the hundreds of thousands. Indeed, in sheer volume alone, the Tank — in all its various models — is Cartier's largest line of watches.

The Tank Louis was introduced in 1922, followed close on the heels of the Asian-influenced Tank Chinoise. The Chinoise, released amidst a mania for jewelry inspired by the Orient, has a square rather than rectangular case and lugs that resemble the portico of a Chinese pagoda.

From its debut, the Tank would see many variations, each in keeping with Louis Cartier’s taste for clean lines and perfect symmetry. Each variant — from the original Tank to the Tank Louis to the Cintrée with its flirtatious, curvaceous lines — has its passionate devotees. Rudolph Valentino, that sensual star of the silver screen, insisted on wearing his Tank onscreen in The Son of the Sheik, and Clark Gable, Andy Warhol, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis were among those who sported a one throughout the years.

Other model lines, including the Santos (based upon the original model crafted for Alberto Santos-Dumont) and the Pasha, have developed devoted followers. Indeed, the maison is unique as one of the few jewelry brands to elicit as much passion from collectors as dedicated watch companies.

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Analog:Shift stands behind the authenticity of our products in perpetuity.

Condition

Since our pieces are vintage or pre-owned, please expect wear & patina from usage and age. Please read each item description and examine all product images.

Warranty

We back each Analog:Shift vintage timepiece with a one-year mechanical warranty from the date of purchase.

International Buyers

Please contact us prior to purchase for additional details on shipping and payment options.

All of our watches include complementary insured shipping within the 50 states.

Most of our products are on hand and will ship directly from our headquarters in New York City. In some cases, watches will be shipped directly from one of our authorized partners.

We generally ship our products via FedEx, fully insured, within 5 business days of purchase. An adult signature is required for receipt of all packages for insurance purposes. Expedited shipping is available at an additional cost. We are also happy to hand deliver your purchase in Manhattan or you may pick it up at our showroom.

Returns must be sent overnight or by priority international delivery, fully insured and paid for by the customer. A restocking fee may apply. Watches must be returned in the same condition as initially shipped.

We welcome international buyers, please contact us prior to purchase for additional details on shipping and payment options.