Let's first address the flea on the elephant in the room and talk dimensions. The Tetra wears larger, being 30 mm squared (900 mm^2). It's close to the Tank Must Large on paper (33.7 x 25.5 mm = 860 mm^2), but the Tetra simply has more real-estate, by 40 square millimeters. The Tetra is 0.1 mm thinner than the Tank, which is bananas, considering it has a manual-wind movement inside. Seriously, Cartier, what is a "High Autonomy" quartz movement anyway? As you know with that watch, you're paying for the name and the iconic dial.
Speaking of dials, it seems more challenging to dress the Nomos down, whereas the Tank looks at home on tan leather and various colored suede. The cleaner, minimalistic design of the Tetra's dial certainly gives it a more refined feel; both have blued-steel hands and are very readable. In classic, Nomos fashion, the dial is not white, but crystalline egg-shell, giving it some needed warmth. In contrast, (pun intended) the Tank's dial is matte white, with nice, bold, black Roman numerals, featuring the cool, angled "Cartier" name in the seven.
Other than the obvious shape difference, the case on the Tetra is generally more angular, which helps accentuate its blocky look. The edges of the case are slightly rounded and complimented by rounded, drilled, double-prongs for the lugs. Although the crown is small, it's nicely knurled (I'm glaring at you, Longines DolceVita), allowing the owner to easily charge up the watch to its maximum power reserve of 43 hours.
One "trick" that Cartier uses to extend the life of the Must Large battery to nearly 8 years is omit a seconds hand and only advance the minute hand every 20 seconds. The Large reference (WSTA0041) keeps the well-known, blue spinel "superfluous protrusion" on the end of its crown which, despite being small, is also easy to manipulate. The case design strays from its older, edgier cousin, the Solo, by sporting a smoother, more curvy look. The slots cut half-way into the back of the lugs are a nice touch from Cartier, as they help easily move spring-bars in and out and minimize any gouging and slicing of the lug's steel surface.
Even though I've worn and enjoyed both of these watches on my 7.4-inch wrist (I prefer the traditional, smaller profile of the classic, dress style), they would also look lovely on a lady's wrist as well. For wrists between 7 and 7.5 inches (17.8 and 19 cm), one should consider straps that are 120/80 mm in length or longer, due to the small lug-to-lug dimension of these watches.
[Aside: Nomos nit-pick] One observation of Nomos watches; they seem to scratch more easily than other brands. I'm not sure if it's the quality of steel, maybe it's softer, or the polishing technique they use, but it seems if I sneeze towards my wrist, the watch accumulates micro-scratches. First-world problems, for sure, but something I've noticed just after a few days of wear.[/Aside]
I liked the grab-and-go nature of the Tank when putting on the watch before heading off to work. That said, I also find it satisfying to wind the watch I'm about to wear for the day and Nomos makes that quite special with the Alpha movement. The Tetra, even with the exhibition case-back, is about $600-800 cheaper than the Tank, and you get Nomos' legendary, excellent customer service and warranty support. Due to its robust, quartz movement, the likelihood of the Tank needing service within Cartier's extended, 8-year warranty period is quite small.
Ounce-per-ounce, one could argue the Tetra is a much better watch; the Nomos, in-house, Alpha movement is highly acclaimed and outstanding – quite impressive given the company's "recent entry" into an already full Glashütte. It's probably safe to say the Tetra would win, if you had to check a bunch of boxes, but it's hard to beat the Tank's iconic, rectangle design and unmistakable dial. One thing is certain, both watches have made me smile. Which would you choose?
Tank you for reading! 😉
