Testing the Cartier Santos de Cartier: A quality surprise for discerning watch lovers

Cartier is one of the world's leading jewelry houses, and has also brought about important innovations in the history of wristwatches. In recent years, the company has manufactured most of its watches in-house, establishing itself as a serious watch brand. The Santos de Cartier chronograph model is full of quality surprises that discerning watch enthusiasts should experience.

A large chronograph watch that combines a sophisticated exterior that makes use of the jeweler's expertise with the ultimate wearing comfort.

　When asked about brands that have caught my eye in recent years, this author, who has a watch exterior fetish, named Rolex and Cartier. Rolex further improved the quality of its exteriors since 2019, starting with the Datejust, but with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have become hard to find in stores. Cartier, on the other hand, is appealing for its consistently high-quality exteriors, from rare, expensive models that are booming worldwide to mass-produced models. The quality of its dials, in particular, is unparalleled, with many models whose manufacturing methods are difficult to imagine at first glance. The Santos de Cartier chronograph model reviewed here is one such example.

　Cartier's Santos is, needless to say, one of the ancestors of wristwatches. It was created at the request of Alberto Santos-Dumont, a wealthy Brazilian aircraft developer, and was released to the public in 1911. It's hard to imagine the lifestyle of the time, even 11 years before the setting of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby (1922). However, the design of the Santos, which featured lugs integrated into the case from the very first model, has remained largely unchanged to the current model. This model also retains many of the design elements from the first model, with the notable difference being the inclusion of a chronograph mechanism.

　The Caliber 1904-CH MC used in this watch is an automatic chronograph movement designed by Carol Cazapi, one of the leading designers of the modern era. By assigning the start/stop function to a push-button at 9 o'clock and the reset function to a push-button on the crown, the ostentatious chronograph feel is reduced, maintaining the Santos's signature dressy look. Despite its small diameter of 26.2 mm, it features twin barrels and a vertical clutch that minimizes loss of amplitude when the chronograph is in operation, ensuring excellent accuracy. I operated the chronograph multiple times daily during my wearing period, and it delivered extremely stable readings of +8 seconds at T24 and +9 seconds at T48. The daily rate is slightly more positive, possibly due to the assumption that the chronograph would be used more frequently.

　Perhaps due to the unique layout of the push buttons, the chronograph feels heavy overall to operate, but there's no unpleasant feeling of metal rubbing against metal, and it feels well-crafted. There's absolutely no vibration when turning the hands, and the smooth, consistent weight makes it extremely comfortable. However, what bothered me was the ratio. Since the hands only advance 25 minutes per rotation of the crown, making large time adjustments across the date ranges requires so much effort that it can tire your fingers. However, thanks to the high winding efficiency of the Magic Click, a type of ratchet-type automatic winding mechanism, the watch never stopped even when worn primarily for desk work.

　The exterior, which is of greatest interest, is also exceptionally well-designed throughout. What particularly caught my eye was the detailed construction of the dial. This model's dial is composed of three layers of different depths: the top layer for the index area, the middle layer for the central and peripheral scale areas, and the deepest layer for the small seconds and chronograph counter area. All of these layers are machined into a single piece, rather than glued together. Furthermore, the dial is characterized by its delicate and diverse decorations: the top layer has a sunburst finish, the middle layer a vertical grain finish, and the deepest layer a matte finish with engraved concentric circles. The vertical grain in the middle layer, in particular, extends straight and uninterrupted from 3 to 12 o'clock, emanating an incredible sense of luxury. Naturally, it would be impossible to evenly sand an area with a single engraved layer, so these vertical grains are recreated by cutting the dial to resemble file marks. The skill with which the designer intentionally incorporated irregular patterns, which would normally occur accidentally, into the design is nothing short of impressive.

　The case is very well-formed, with no irregular distortions. The top surface, along with the sapphire crystal, is convexly curved, which gives it a luxurious feel, but it does reflect the surrounding scenery and reduce the visibility of the dial, which is a slight drawback. The length and depth of the hairline, including the ADLC-processed bezel, are uniform, with no directional irregularities. The edges on both the top and back surfaces are deeply C-chamfered and polished, making it extremely smooth against the skin. The back cover also has a gentle concave curve, which is designed to fit snugly on the wrist.

　The buckle uses a deployant mechanism and is fixed to the strap at 12 o'clock. My wrist is 160 mm, but the strap length is just right, so the buckle is positioned just towards 6 o'clock, providing a surprisingly stable hold despite the watch being over 50 mm long and weighing 120.5 g (with the rubber strap).

　This is the first time for me to take part in an impression for this magazine. I hadn't originally planned to do so, but I came across a chronograph model of the Santos de Cartier among the models I was supposed to wear, and I honestly decided to participate because I wanted to experience the current Cartier. The result was a great harvest. Not only was I able to appreciate the incredible exterior, but it was also my first experience of feeling so comfortable in a watch with a case width of 44.9mm. Large chronographs tend to have a strong gadget-like aspect, but this model has been given the same level of craftsmanship as a piece of jewelry and an excellent fit, and I would recommend it to discerning watch lovers to experience. (Watanabe Naoto)