Cartier Santos de Cartier
The first wristwatch in history since 1911, the Cartier Santos experienced a change in popularity with the outbreak of the Second World War. At that time round watches were more practical and useful, even after the war the soldiers wore their battle-tested watches. The head of the marketing department at the time, Alain Dominique Perri, decided to revise the Cartier Santos after 60 years. The first change was the new name to Santos de Cartier. The optical changes were adapted to the times, so a bezel plate was introduced that is held in position by tiny screws, today one of the recognizable features of the Santos. The previously unseen leather strap was replaced by a metal strap and gave the Santos de Cartier a sporty touch. For the first model in this revision, gold was used for the case and bracelet. Here too, Cartier showed itself to be brave, because the use of gold for watches was something unprecedented at the time. The Bi-Color watch was born. An all-steel version followed the initial release in 1978.
Style icon of the 1980s
Originally made as a luxury watch, the Santos de Cartier enjoyed great acclaim after its re-release. Various variations were produced until the collection was discontinued in 2016. 40 years after the first revision, the second update finally followed and enchanted Santos fans from young to old with the new Santos collection.
Design from the start
With its crown protection and curved lines, the Santos de Cartier has its roots in the Santos Sport from the 70s and the Santos 100 launched in 2004. Compared to the Ursantos, the Santos de Cartier also has a second hand. However, a lot has changed at Cartier in terms of materials, dial colors and movements used. In addition to the well-known steel variants, the bi-color variations came to light over the years. Cartier uses high-quality 750 gold (white, yellow and rose gold), with and without in combination, with diamonds, scratch-resistant ceramic and light titanium are also used to produce the Santos de Cartier models. As is typical for Cartier, the collection is available in three sizes. The medium model without a date display, the large model with a date display at 6 o'clock have an automatic movement, while the extra large model is a chronograph and has an automatic winding. Variations with a blue, black or gold dial, or even a skeleton dial, have expanded the new Santos de Cartier collection. Cartier has made great progress today with the strap changing system. Thanks to the QuickSwitch bracelet changing system, the Santos de Cartier can be changed from elegant to sporty in just a few simple steps. In addition to the steel version and several leather straps, there were also sporty rubber straps, all with a practical folding clasp.
