The Santos Carrée ref. 2961 was Cartier’s way of joining the conversation that Genta started with the Royal Oak and the Nautilus.
Steel and gold, integrated bracelet, exposed screws, a design language that made luxury watches feel industrial for the first time. In an era of big changes driven by the quartz revolution, this change in paradigm probably saved the whole industry.
This is the two-tone version: steel case, yellow gold bezel, white lacquer dial with black Roman numerals, blued sword hands, date at 3, and that little blue sapphire cabochon on the crown that every Cartier collector knows to look for.
The case is 29 by 41mm, slim on the wrist, easy to wear every day.
The bracelet is worth mentioning on its own. This is the third generation with the integrated butterfly deployant clasp, which is a proper upgrade over the older folding versions, both in comfort and in how it sits on the wrist. If you’ve worn an earlier Santos bracelet, you’ll feel the difference immediately. Two additional links are also present, to accommodate every wrist size.
The automatic movement has just been freshly serviced and the watch comes with its original Cartier pouch and the original “lifetime guarantee” warranty card, which is increasingly rare to find with Carrées from this period.
Together with the purchase, you receive a one-year warranty and a Timegrapher report showing amplitude, rate, and beat error, proof of its mechanical health.
For those who don’t know, the Santos was the first wristwatch ever made, designed by Louis Cartier in 1904 for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, who needed to check the time while flying without reaching into his pocket.
This reference carries all of that history, on a bracelet that wraps your wrist perfectly.
The Santos Carrée ref. 2961 was Cartier’s way of joining the conversation that Genta started with the Royal Oak and the Nautilus.
Steel and gold, integrated bracelet, exposed screws, a design language that made luxury watches feel industrial for the first time. In an era of big changes driven by the quartz revolution, this change in paradigm probably saved the whole industry.
This is the two-tone version: steel case, yellow gold bezel, white lacquer dial with black Roman numerals, blued sword hands, date at 3, and that little blue sapphire cabochon on the crown that every Cartier collector knows to look for.
The case is 29 by 41mm, slim on the wrist, easy to wear every day.
The bracelet is worth mentioning on its own. This is the third generation with the integrated butterfly deployant clasp, which is a proper upgrade over the older folding versions, both in comfort and in how it sits on the wrist. If you’ve worn an earlier Santos bracelet, you’ll feel the difference immediately. Two additional links are also present, to accommodate every wrist size.
The automatic movement has just been freshly serviced and the watch comes with its original Cartier pouch and the original “lifetime guarantee” warranty card, which is increasingly rare to find with Carrées from this period.
Together with the purchase, you receive a one-year warranty and a Timegrapher report showing amplitude, rate, and beat error, proof of its mechanical health.
For those who don’t know, the Santos was the first wristwatch ever made, designed by Louis Cartier in 1904 for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, who needed to check the time while flying without reaching into his pocket.
This reference carries all of that history, on a bracelet that wraps your wrist perfectly.
Image 1 of 5
Image 2 of 5
Image 3 of 5
Image 4 of 5
Image 5 of 5