Mk 3 Dial (Secret Signature)
Tank Louis Cartier 78086 — Mk 3 Dial (Secret Signature)
Third dial: flat-A signature plus a “Cartier” signature hidden in the VII of the white Roman dial. Seen from 1xxx serials but common only from 6xxx–7xxx; later examples pair it with the short, rounded Type 3 cabochon. Auction examples with the VII signature run from case 780864251 to 7808613966.
HODINKEE’s Anthony Traina estimates about 15,000 made (serials documented up to 14,xxx); production of the 1973 Louis Cartier Collection models ran into the mid-1980s. Three cabochon crown types follow the serials: Type 1 (tall, pointed) from the start to about 6xxx–7xxx, Type 2 (short, pointed) most common at 7xxx–8xxx, Type 3 (stubby, rounded) mostly 10,xxx–14,xxx. Running numbers recorded at Antiquorum span 0082 to 13966 (case Nos. 780860082–7808613966). Antiquorum’s decade estimates for these numbers are not consistent (e.g. 0082 “circa 1985”, 5169 “circa 1980”, 2657 and 13966 “1990s”), so no serial-to-year table is given.
Identifying details
Variants of 78086
Reference overview →| Variant | Production |
|---|---|
| Mk 1 Dial | c. 1973–? |
| Mk 2 Dial | c. 1974–? |
| Mk 3 Dial (Secret Signature)Current | Undated |
| Paris Dial | c. 1973–? |
Case & movement
- Reference
- 78086
- Production
- Undated
- Case serials
- c. 1,000–13,966
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Case size
- 30 × 23 mm
- Movement
- Manual winding
- Caliber
- ETA 2512
- Cartier 78-1
Dial, bezel & hands
Unknown attributes are left out rather than guessed.
Movement
ETA 2512
Small 7¾-ligne manual-wind calibre; found in Tank Louis ref. 78086 and in a 1975 New York-retailed Tank L.C. (there signed Bueche-Girod).
Manual winding · 17 jewels
Cartier 78-1
Cartier-designated small hand-wound calibre, reported as ETA-based. Recorded in a 1970s Paris-signed Tank Louis and in the mechanical Must de Cartier Tank of the late 1970s.
Manual winding · 17 jewels