Is the Cartier 3169 quartz or automatic?

Quartz. It is a battery-powered, time-only watch, most often catalogued with Cartier calibre 690 (Phillips gives eight jewels), while a minority of listings name calibre 157.

How much is a Cartier Tank 3169 worth?

Approximate auction results, mainly 2023 to 2025, run from roughly US$1,700 to US$2,500 for a strap-fitted or imperfect watch and US$2,500 to US$3,500 for a good standard example. Excellent, complete or bracelet-fitted watches reach roughly US$3,500 to US$5,000, with a few higher. The Phillips Piano at HK$114,300 is a rare-dial outlier.

Is the Tank Solo 3169 the same as the Tank Must?

No. The Tank Must replaced the Tank Solo line in 2021 with new references, such as the slightly smaller 33.7 × 25.5 mm steel WSTA0041. Dealer listings that call a 3169 a "Tank Must" or "Tank Solo Must" are inconsistent and do not show that the reference changed model family.

Cartier Tank 3169

Q: What size is the Cartier Tank 3169?

About 27 × 35 mm, the figure most listings give; some say 34 × 27 mm, probably a difference in measuring convention. One listing gives a thickness of 6 mm.

Q: What is the difference between W5200003, W5200014 and 3169?

3169 is the reference on the case. Dealers and auction houses commonly list the leather-strap watch as W5200003 and the bracelet watch as W5200014, which is why a 2020 lot reads W5200014/3169.

One steel quartz case, several configurations: the 3169 is priced on how it has been kept, and so far only the Piano dial has broken that rule.

Production: c. 2009–2021
Case: Stainless steel
Size: 27 × 35 mm
Thickness: c. 6 mm
Crystal: Sapphire
Dial: Silvered, black Roman
Hands: Blued-steel sword
Crown: Beaded, blue cabochon
Movement: Quartz, Cal. 690
Functions: Hours and minutes
Caseback: Screwed, four or eight
Strap: Leather or steel bracelet

The Cartier Tank 3169 was produced from about 2009 to 2021.

Production years: c. 2009–2021
Replaced by: WSTA0041
Movement: Quartz, Cal. 690
Price: Indicative median ≈ $1,900

An ordinary Cartier Tank 3169 sells at auction for a few thousand US dollars. In September 2026 Phillips sold one for HK$114,300, against an estimate of HK$40,000 to 80,000, because its Roman numerals were laid out asymmetrically like piano keys. That gap is the 3169 in one line: a single steel quartz Tank Solo case whose value is set by condition and completeness, with one documented dial so far that breaks the rule.

Reference 3169 is the number on the case of the large stainless-steel Tank Solo, and it covers more than one configuration. Dealers and auction houses list the leather-strap watch as W5200003 and the bracelet watch as W5200014, and a 2020 auction lot reads W5200014/3169. The Solo line was introduced in 2004 and served as Cartier's primary steel Tank until the revived Tank Must replaced it in 2021. The large model has a silvered dial with black Roman numerals and a railway minute track, blued-steel sword hands, a beaded crown set with a blue synthetic spinel cabochon and Cartier's quartz calibre 690, in a case most listings give as 27 × 35 mm (some say 34 × 27 mm, probably a difference in measuring convention).

Its dates come from sale and auction records rather than from Cartier, and those records hold its few puzzles: a minority of listings name calibre 157 instead of 690, and one auction lot dates a python-dial 3169 to circa 2000, four years before the line's reported introduction.

“A few thousand dollars for an ordinary 3169, HK$114,300 for the Piano: the same case number, and the dial is the one documented difference tied to a major premium.”

Production timeline

Cartier Tank 3169 production years: c. 2009–2021

The Tank Solo was introduced in 2004, but the 3169 itself is dated by its sales records rather than by Cartier. The earliest firmly dated examples are from 2009, and the Phillips Piano came with a Cartier guarantee stamped by a Shenzhen retailer on 17 November 2011. Alongside the case number run two sale codes, W5200003 for the leather-strap watch and W5200014 for the bracelet version, and a 2020 auction lot pairs them in the form W5200014/3169. Cartier has not published why it used both systems; consistent dealer and auction usage points to the four-digit number identifying the case and the W code the configuration in which it was sold.

The line ended by replacement rather than by a change to the watch. In 2021 Cartier revived the Tank Must, which GQ described as replacing the outgoing Tank Solo, and one dealer describes a 2021 3169 as among the last Solos. No change to the case architecture or the calibre is documented across those years, although listings disagree on the screw count of the back and a few name calibre 157. What visibly separates one 3169 from another is the dial and whatever is fitted to the lugs.

2004
Tank Solo introduced
Rectangular steel case, Roman dial
2009
Earliest firmly dated 3169
Cal. 690 quartz, blue cabochon crown
2011
Piano dial guaranteed
Asymmetric Roman numerals, leather strap
2020
W5200014/3169 recorded
Silver dial on steel bracelet
2021
Tank Must replaces Solo
One 2021 example called among the last

How to tell it apart

3169 against its neighbours

The 3169 has no documented one-for-one predecessor, and its successor is a line rather than a reference. The steel Tank Must WSTA0041 is the closest current counterpart: the watch Cartier put in the Solo's place in 2021, in a slightly smaller 33.7 × 25.5 mm case with a high-autonomy quartz movement.

	This reference 3169 Cartier · focal c. 2009–2021	WSTA0041 Successor line, steel Tank Must 2021–at least 2025
Production	c. 2009–2021	2021–at least 2025
Case	Stainless steel	Stainless steel
Size	27 × 35 mm	33.7 × 25.5 mm
Movement	Quartz, Cal. 690	Quartz, high-autonomy

Strap and dial configurations

Five strap and dial configurations across the run

The configuration in which the 3169 most often appears: the steel case on a Cartier leather strap, often calfskin, closed by a steel folding or deployant clasp, and commonly listed under the code W5200003. The Phillips Piano is also documented on leather with a Cartier deployant clasp. A strap is a consumable, so an original Cartier deployant clasp is the part worth checking.

Buying guide

What to check before buying a 3169

Because the case number is shared, a 3169 is valued first as a configuration and then as a survivor: bracelet or strap, the dial it carries, whether the box and papers are present, and how hard the case has been polished. In the auction data, a 2013 example sold for US$2,664 and a 2014 example for US$2,878, both including premium, and a 2023 Piasa result of €1,560 shows the lower European level. Phillips' own catalogue calls the Solo a more accessible alternative to the Tank Louis Cartier that keeps its classic silhouette, and that is what a well-kept 3169 delivers: the Tank's rectangle, Roman dial and blue cabochon in steel, from the line that was Cartier's primary steel Tank until 2021.

Case polish

On an unpolished 3169 the flat tops of the brancards and the polished sides meet at a crisp line, and the case corners are sharp to the eye. Rounded corners and a blurred line between those surfaces are the most visible value reducers.

Dial condition

A silvered dial with black Roman numerals leaves nowhere for damage to hide. Check for moisture marks, staining, lifted printing and unevenly spaced numerals; blurred printing is a warning sign, and a replacement dial should be disclosed and priced accordingly.

Bracelet, clasp and set

On a W5200014, check the Cartier markings, end links, stretch and link count; on a W5200003, the steel folding clasp. Original box and papers add value and help establish that the strap or bracelet is the one the watch was sold with.

Quartz health

A running quartz watch is not necessarily a healthy one. Have a watchmaker inspect for battery leakage, corrosion near the case back, gasket and crystal condition, and any undocumented replacement of the calibre 690.

Case back and crown

Both four-screw and eight-screw backs are described in catalogued examples, so judge the case back against the specific watch's paperwork. The crown should carry a correctly fitted blue cabochon; a replacement stone is not fraud but should be disclosed.

Special dial claims

A Piano, python or other unusual dial should be backed by Cartier paperwork or an auction-house description of that watch. Only the Piano has a recorded premium, so paying extra for any other special-dial claim needs that evidence first.

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 3169 price and value

A Cartier Tank 3169 sells for about $1,900 at the median, typically $1,600 to $3,200 across 17 comparable sales.

Live · Grey Market

Cartier Tank 3169 for sale

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

Median

≈ $1,900

Typical range

$1,600–$3,200

Comparables

Confidence

AuctionDealer

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 3169

Cartier has published no production dates for the 3169. The Tank Solo line was introduced in 2004 and replaced by the Tank Must in 2021, and firmly dated 3169 examples in sales records run from 2009 to 2021; one auction lot dated circa 2000 conflicts with that.

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Reviewed by the Grey Market authentication team · Last verified 2026-10-30

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