Cartier Santos

Cartier Santos Galbée “The Jerry Seinfeld”

THE BASICS

Okay, I’m calling it: this is the it-boy watch (but, of course, women can rock it too… it’s just that we already have the “it-girl watch” and I didn’t want the guys to feel left out). Lou Reed wore it in the ‘80s, Jerry Seinfeld in the ‘90s – but before either of them, it was worn by Santos Dumont, Louis Cartier’s party hopping Brazilian pilot friend. Dumont came to Cartier lamenting the difficulty of checking the time during flight (men were exclusively wearing pocket watches in the early 1900s); and Louis, ever ingenious and charitable, created the Santos, effectively the first-ever wristwatch designed for (and accepted) by men. Truly revolutionary and exciting, the Santos has evolved to undergo several iterations and design tweaks, but our favorites are those belonging to the ‘80s/’90s sweet-spot era. This two-tone example is, in my opinion, THE Santos to own AND it’s automatic! You can be stylish and please the watch nerds in one fell swoop. 

DATE OF BIRTH: C.1990’s

MATERIAL: Stainless steel and eighteen carat yellow gold

SIZE: 29mm x 41mm

MOVEMENT: Automatic 

CONDITION: Very good. Unpolished. Signs of wear

BOX/PAPERS: No/No

THE NITTY GRITTY:

A stainless steel and eighteen carat gold Cartier Santos. Perhaps alongside the Tank, the Santos is the most iconic of all Cartier watch designs. Not only is it very distinctive on the eye, it also carries the title of the first men’s wristwatch ever made. A relationship between the Brazilian  early aviator Santos Dumont and Louis Cartier led to the creation of the watch that bore his name. After complaining to Louis Cartier about how difficult it was to wear a pocketwatch while trying to fly, Cartier came up with a solution for his intrepid Brazilian friend. And so, the Cartier Santos was born. The November 1906 film which shows Santos’s 21.5 seconds of flight also features the first wristwatch hard at work!

This model, which became a more sporty example than this original version, launched  in 1978 hot on the heels of the introduction of the Royal Oak and Nautilus and was Cartier’s attempt to keep up with their rivals. This watch, in this form, the two tone version, went on to become one of the most legendary watches of the 1980’s. The wrist of Gordon Gekko would not have sported anything else.

The watch is powered by the Cartier automatic movement. It has the classic design with the screw down crystal frame and bracelet set with screw designs. The dial is classic Cartier: Roman numerals with the hidden signature at the one the one of the VI, chemin de fer minute track, sword blued steel hands, and blue sapphire set winding crown. The date window on this model is set at the classic 3 oclock and can be ‘quick set’ through the pulling out the crown one step. The watch is presented in good original condition, quite possibly unpolished, with strong lines and clean throughout. The dial has aged to a wonderful warm ivory color, and has a few spider cracks through, but they can only be seen through a magnified loop, and are mentioned for transparency. A cult classic worn by many icons over the years which is now becoming the must have Cartier again.