What movement does the Cartier 2303 use?

The 2303 uses Cartier's quartz calibre 212P, which some catalogues write as 212P T. A single specialist listing gives it 25 jewels. No source names a base movement, and a listing of 1904-PS MC conflicts with the consistent evidence and is probably an error.

How big is the Cartier Tank 2303?

The case measures 28 × 36 mm, a rectangle rather than a round diameter, and one listing gives a thickness of 6.7 mm. Lug width and lug-to-lug are not documented, and the integrated bracelet makes the 36 mm length an unreliable guide to wrist fit.

Is the Cartier 2303 quartz or automatic?

It is quartz. The chronograph has a date, a 30-minute register and a 12-hour register. Beat rate and power reserve do not apply to a quartz movement, and no battery-life figure is documented.

What is a Cartier Tank 2303 worth?

Asking prices in 2025 and 2026 sources cluster in the low-to-mid four figures in euros, with steel-and-gold examples generally priced above comparable steel ones and non-running or incomplete watches priced lower. These are listing and estimate figures, not sold prices, and condition, bracelet completeness and service history move them most.

Does the Cartier 2303 have a predecessor or successor?

None is documented. Examples dated 1999 to 2004 are still sold as 2303, so later production appears to be a continuation of the same reference, and an apparent earlier model may only be early 2303 production.

Cartier Tank 2303

The large Tank Française Chronoflex is a quartz chronograph with no documented launch year, ancestor or heir, which leaves condition to do the work that paperwork does on other Tanks.

Production: c. 1996–early 2000s
Case size: 28 × 36 mm
Thickness: 6.7 mm
Case metal: Steel or steel/18k gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Crown: Sapphire cabochon
Caseback: Four screws
Dial: Silvered or white, Roman
Hands: Blued steel
Movement: Quartz Cal. 212P
Functions: Chronograph, date
Water resistance: 3 ATM
Bracelet: Integrated, concealed clasp

The Cartier Tank 2303 was produced from about 1996 to the early 2000s.

Production years: c. 1996–early 2000s
Movement: Quartz Cal. 212P
Price: Indicative median ≈ $2,000

The Cartier Tank 2303 is a chronograph that arrived without a paper trail. One specialist index lists examples of this same reference as both "circa 1990" and "circa 2003", and no available source establishes a launch year, a numbered predecessor or a successor. That vacuum is the defining fact of the watch: where a vintage Tank is valued for its documented lineage, the 2303 is judged almost entirely on the example in front of you.

The watch itself is clear enough. It is the large Tank Française Chronoflex (some catalogues write Chronoreflex), a 28 × 36 mm rectangle in steel or in steel with 18k yellow gold, driven by the quartz Cartier calibre 212P. Dated examples run from 1996 through 2000 and 2002 to circa 2003, with later listings reaching 2004, and one specialist index places the family from about 1997. The dial gives it away at a glance: black Roman numerals on a silvered or white ground, blued-steel hands, a date at the top and two small registers for 30 minutes and 12 hours below. Cartier's secret signature sits hidden in the numerals, reported at the X or, in some descriptions, at the 10. Because it is a quartz watch, it never had a beat rate or a power reserve to argue about, and what is left to examine is the case, the dial, the bracelet and whether the chronograph still works.

“A quartz Tank with no documented birth, parentage or heir: for the 2303, the watch in hand is the only evidence.”

Production timeline

Cartier Tank 2303 production years: c. 1996–early 2000s

The record for the 2303 is a set of auction and dealer estimates, not a factory ledger, and it should be read that way. The earliest catalogued examples are steel watches with silvered dials, dated circa 1995 by auction houses and 1996 by dealers. A specialist index prefers about 1997, and a third listing offers circa 1990, which conflicts with the others and is not a reliable launch date. The watch is a quartz chronograph because quartz regulation made a slim rectangular case with a date and two registers practical, but Cartier's reasoning for adding it to the Tank Française line is not documented here.

Steel and 18k yellow gold appears in records from about 2000, and a circa-2003 two-tone is catalogued with calibre 212P T. Why the gold version appeared is not documented, and nothing shows the dial or movement changing alongside it. Catalogues write 212P and 212P T interchangeably, so whether the suffix marks a production era or only careless cataloguing is unsettled. Examples dated 1999 to 2004 still carry the reference 2303, which is why collectors read the later watches as continued production, not a successor. Taken together, this is a reference defined by what did not change: one calibre, one case and one layout across roughly eight years of dated listings, so almost nothing in the watch's design dates an individual example.

c. 1995 – 1996
Earliest examples
Four-screw back, sapphire cabochon crown
c. 1997
Index start date
Approximate; not a confirmed launch
c. 2000
Two-tone documented
Gold crown, steel-and-gold bracelet
c. 2003
Late 212P T examples
Same date and two-register layout
2004
Latest dated listings
Layout unchanged from early watches

How to tell it apart

2303 against its neighbours

No numbered predecessor or successor to the 2303 is documented, and later chronographs of this kind continue to appear under the same reference, so the useful comparison is between its own configurations: steel versus steel and yellow gold, and silvered versus white dial.

	This reference 2303 Cartier · focal c. 1996–early 2000s
Case size	28 × 36 mm
Case metal	Steel or steel/18k gold
Dial	Silvered or white, Roman
Movement	Quartz Cal. 212P

Case and dial variants

Three case and dial variants across the run

This is the configuration of the earliest catalogued examples, and the one most often described in auction text. The silvered dial has a pale, slightly reflective surface against which the black Roman numerals and the outer fifth-second divisions stand out sharply, and the blued-steel hands pick up a darker tone in certain light. The signature is concealed in the numerals, reported at the X or, in some descriptions, at the 10. Steel case and bracelet, a four-screw back and a sapphire cabochon crown complete the picture, with quartz calibre 212P inside, described in auction catalogues as 25 jewels. That jewel count comes from a single specialist listing and is not corroborated elsewhere.

Buying guide

What to check before buying a 2303

The risk in a 2303 is not a missing pedigree but a lot of quiet wear, since the watch is a quartz chronograph with an integrated bracelet and no documented production figures to anchor a premium. Rarity is a collector's perception here, not a published number. A Cartier service record, a complete bracelet and an unpolished case therefore count for more than any claim about early production. It suits someone who wants a Cartier chronograph in a compact rectangle (28 × 36 mm, 6.7 mm thick, 3 ATM) that never needs winding. Listings in 2025 and 2026 cluster in the low-to-mid four figures in euros.

Case polish

Look for softened corners, rounded transitions and a lost contrast between brushed and polished surfaces, especially around the screw-back. A crisp, lightly polished steel case can be worth more than a heavily refinished two-tone.

Chronograph function

Test start, stop, reset, date change and the return of each hand to zero. One Christie's example was described as running but needing service, so a working watch is not necessarily a serviced one, and quartz parts may be hard to source.

Gold wear on two-tones

Inspect the crown, bracelet centre links and clasp for thinning, dents or exposed base metal. The gold elements are part of what the two-tone premium pays for.

Bracelet length and links

Replacement integrated bracelets are costly and a short one limits use. Documented examples ranged from roughly 160 mm to 170–172 mm, so check the links actually included.

Dial and hands

Expect a silvered or white dial with black Roman numerals, blued-steel hands, the date at 12 and two registers. Check numeral alignment, the signature, the date aperture and the hand shape, since redials and replaced hands reduce value.

Movement identification

The consistent calibre is the Cartier 212P. One listing gives 1904-PS MC, which conflicts with the other evidence and is probably an error. Ask for movement photographs and have a watchmaker confirm the calibre and look for mismatched parts.

Every watch sold on Grey Market goes through this kind of inspection, hands-on, before it ships to the buyer. More in our FAQ

Price and value

Cartier Tank 2303 price and value

A Cartier Tank 2303 sells for about $2,000 at the median, typically $1,400 to $2,400 across 12 comparable sales.

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Cartier Tank 2303 for sale

Indicative figures from recent dealer, auction, and Grey Market sales (updated this week). Every watch is verified before it sells here.

Median

≈ $2,000

Typical range

$1,400–$2,400

Comparables

Confidence

Auction

Each point is a recent dealer or auction sale, banded to an indicative figure. The range shown is not a valuation.

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Frequently asked

Common questions about the 2303

The Cartier Tank Française 2303 was produced from c. 1996 to the early 2000s. Published examples are dated 1996, 2000, 2002 and circa 2003, with later listings reaching 2004, and one specialist index places the family from about 1997. No source establishes a launch year or an end year, and no distinct predecessor or successor reference is documented.

Sources cited · 10

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Reviewed by the Grey Market authentication team · Last verified 2026-10-29

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