Why We Love It

What can we say about Cartier? For over a century, the brand has established a reputation for elegance and refinement. Clark Gable, Rudolph Valentino, and Andy Warhol have all strapped Cartier watches to their wrists.

We’ve offered a dozen or so Cartiers over the years, but most of them have been rectangular… but this one isn’t.

What we offer here is a Tank Obus. With its square case and bullet-shaped lugs, it’s not your average Tank. But every element of the watch, from the lugs to the patinated white dial, was crafted with a care and attention that one can only say is Cartier.

The Story

Despite being a purveyor of haute joaillerie, Cartier has had a long tradition of making watches. It started in 1907, when founder Louis Cartier made what was arguably the very first wristwatch for his friend Alberto Santos-Dumont. Throughout the years, the brand made a name for itself with its most famous wristwatch, the Tank, in all its multitudinous forms.

One of these is the Obus.

Released in 1929, the Tank Obus is known for its unusual shape. Unlike other watches in the Tank line, the Obus is square, not the rectangular shape that many collectors have come to expect. But the most distinctive element of this watch is the shape of the lugs, which look nothing more like tiny bullets affixed to the ends of the case.