The story of the Cartier Santos
On 20 October 1978 Cartier relaunched the Santos at the Musee de l'Air in Paris, in the same building as Santos-Dumont's own Demoiselle aircraft.
Chapters
- 2019 to todayThe slim aviator returns
In 2019 Cartier brought back the Santos-Dumont in steel with a quartz movement, its bezel rivets now small screws. Four limited editions with the hand-wound calibre 430MC followed in 2020.
- 2018Back after forty years
The Santos returned at SIHH 2018, forty years after the steel model's debut, with a slimmer case and a bezel whose screws taper into the bracelet. Jake Gyllenhaal fronted the campaign.
- 1987 to 2015Curves and a quiet exit
In 1987 the case was softened and renamed Santos Galbee, and in 2005 the Galbee XL grew to 32 by 45.5 mm with an automatic movement. Around 2016 the model vanished from Cartier's websites and sold out in boutiques.
- 1978 to 1986Steel, gold and screws
Cartier's Dominique Perrin pushed for a more affordable sports watch, and the 1978 Santos paired steel with gold, a rare mix at the time, with screws on bezel and bracelet. An all-steel version followed, and so did a flood of fakes in Europe and the US.
- 1911 to 1977From one pilot to everyone
In 1911 the first Santos went on sale to the public in solid gold with ultra-thin movements by Edmond Jaeger. Jaeger worked with Jacques-David LeCoultre to make them, a partnership that later led to Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Worn by
The Cartier ambassador appears in the Santos de Cartier campaign, and Vogue Scandinavia described the Santos as his timepiece of choice in 2024.
He wore a Santos de Cartier Skeleton, its bridges shaped as Roman numerals, when accepting the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Judas and the Black Messiah.
The musician and producer wore a yellow-gold Santos de Cartier with a coral dial to the Met Gala in September 2021.
The Hollywood Reporter counted his Cartier Santos among the most talked-about watches of 2021.
The Brazilian aviation pioneer was the watch's first wearer, and the line is named after him.
Moments
2021. Daniel Kaluuya collected his Oscar wearing a Santos Skeleton, a 27,800 dollar watch whose movement bridges form the dial's numerals.
2002. A limited Santos Galbee run came in grey and light blue dials, 2,000 pieces of each.
1978. The steel and gold Santos was presented at a gala at the Musee de l'Air in Paris, home of Santos-Dumont's Demoiselle.
Generations and strap changes
- 2018Santos 2018 relaunch
Relaunched at SIHH 2018 in medium and large sizes with softer curves and the calibre 1847 MC.
Debuted QuickSwitch for tool-free strap changes and SmartLink for tool-free bracelet sizing; large case is 39.8 x 47.5 mm.
- 1904Santos-Dumont original
Louis Cartier made a wristwatch for aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, who struggled to read a pocket watch while flying.
Fitted with a thin leather strap and a small buckle.
Firsts and innovations
The 2018 Santos introduced QuickSwitch: a small rectangular button on the end link releases the bracelet or strap with a single press.
SmartLink lets owners resize the bracelet by pressing a small button on the back of the link to release its pins.