The bracelet Tank grows up
By Priya Nair, Singapore ·
I was sceptical when Cartier brought the Française back in 2023. The nineties original had become shorthand for a certain kind of banker's wife, and I say that as someone who spent years sitting next to them at client dinners.
The new one won me over. The medium is 32.1 mm tall, 6.8 mm thick, steel, silver dial, quartz, and the case flows straight into the bracelet so the whole thing wears like a piece of chain rather than a watch on a band. The lines are crisper than before, and on the wrist it looks more expensive than its 4,350 to 4,700 dollars.
The catch is the comparison sitting next to it in the display case. For roughly 3,000 dollars more, the Santos Medium gives you an automatic movement, 100 m of water resistance and a better resale story. The Française gives you quartz and 30 m. If you want a bracelet Cartier you never take off, the Santos is the grown-up answer. If you want one that looks like jewellery and you'll never wear swimming, the Française is lovelier.