Entrepreneur Emily Oberg spotted wearing a Cartier

Paris provided the backdrop, and the watch matched the setting. Emily Oberg, founder of the cult lifestyle brand Sporty & Rich, was photographed at night in the Cour Napoléon outside the Louvre Museum wearing a Cartier Tank Obus in yellow gold — one of the more historically obscure and collector-coveted references in the entire Tank family.

The Tank Obus debuted in 1929, at the height of Art Deco influence on watchmaking, and its architecture reflects that era without apology. Where most Tank models are defined by a rectangular case, the Obus is genuinely square. The signature detail, however, is the lugs: short, rounded, and tapered in a shape that evokes an artillery shell — hence the name. The result is a case silhouette that reads both geometric and organic simultaneously, a tension that makes it visually distinctive on the wrist. The white dial features classic Cartier roman numerals, a chemin de fer minute track, and the characteristic blued-steel sword hands, all anchored by a cabochon blue spinel crown.

In collector circles, the Tank Obus occupies a peculiar space: less immediately recognizable than the Tank Louis Cartier or the Tank Américaine, yet arguably more interesting from a design-history standpoint. Vintage examples from the 1930s command serious attention at auction. The modern reissued versions, offered in yellow gold on a crocodile-leather strap, carry the same proportions and dial layout with updated movement specifications, making them accessible entry points into a genuinely rare family.

Emily Oberg has consistently demonstrated a refined sensibility when it comes to dressing — understated, quality-forward, and deliberately French in aesthetic. Sporty & Rich, the brand she founded in 2014 starting as a mood-board magazine and later pivoting into apparel and wellness, built its identity on exactly this kind of taste-making restraint. A Tank Obus in yellow gold, worn casually with a grey tee and denim at the Louvre, is entirely on-brand.

On the current market, yellow gold Tank Obus references from Cartier's modern production are rarely found at grey-market discount — supply is limited and demand among fashion-forward collectors is steady. Vintage references in fine condition can trade well above their estimate at major auction houses.