Cartier Santos Carrée Lady Automatic Steel - ref. 0901 - c. 1980

The legendary Santos with a twist!

Description

When one mentions Cartier watchmaking, the Santos model inevitably comes to mind. As the first wristwatch launched by Cartier at the beginning of the 20th century, the Santos was a small revolution: a watch on the wrist, a square watch with sharp edges, and exposed screws to hold and secure the crystal. An Art Deco style that never ceases to please and is today a true must-have for any watch enthusiast.

Theoretically rather sporty due to its steel construction and screwed bezel, this Cartier Santos manages to remain elegant through its smaller dimensions, its traditional Cartier white dial with Roman numerals, and its flat, gadrooned link bracelet, which is dressier than the line's usual exposed-screw bracelet. This version may be the most sought-after by enthusiasts for its automatic movement.

How to wear it?

With its 24 mm case, the Santos Lady is a watch you put on in the morning and forget about. It slips effortlessly under a sleeve, lasts a full day, and wears as well with jeans as it does with a dressier outfit. Neither too sporty nor too elegant, it is particularly well-suited for everyday life.

Finally, its steel look allows it to coexist with everything you are already wearing—yellow gold, white gold, silver, or steel jewelry—without ever being overbearing.

Why did Françoise choose it?

This Cartier Santos is truly perfect for daily wear. This is the all-steel version, with a square case and sharp angles: the one that precedes the Santos Galbée. A watch that is easily paired for any day. An essential model in the Cartier repertoire. It is iconic, from both a historical and stylistic point of view. A pleasant and practical piece that is timeless and discreet.

Françoise greatly appreciates the Galbée version but admits to having a soft spot for this automatic version, which is closer to the art of watchmaking. A watch that winds itself thanks to the movement of the wrist when you wear it. Its small size sits perfectly on the wrist. If it weren't a Cartier, you might eventually forget you were wearing it!

History

It is 1904, and the Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont complains to his friend Louis Cartier: it is impossible to check a pocket watch while piloting. The jeweler then designs a watch to be worn on the wrist, square and legible at a glance. The watch initially remains a private order, and it would not be until 1911 that Cartier marketed it. It thus entered the history of watchmaking, as it was the first men's wristwatch at a time when wearing a watch on the wrist was still considered a woman's piece of jewelry.

The line was relaunched in 1978 in a version with an integrated bracelet that became one of Cartier's great successes, and the range then split into two: the Santos Dumont, faithful to the original design, and the Santos, which gained in modernity. It is to this second family that the Santos Carrée belongs, which was succeeded in the late 1980s by the Santos Galbée with its slightly curved case.

More than a century after the sketch drawn for an aviator, the Santos is still in the Maison's catalog, available in steel, steel and gold, or solid gold, and continues to enjoy undeniable success!