In the 1970s, a genre known as luxury sports watches, exemplified by the Patek Philippe Nautilus and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, took the world by storm.
Amidst this trend, Cartier released the Santos, which, like the Nautilus and Royal Oak, featured a stainless steel bracelet.
This sporty reinterpretation of the Santos-Dumont, which was already part of Cartier's heritage at the time, undoubtedly holds a particularly significant position in the lineage of the Santos, which continues to this day.
What we are introducing today is the Santos Galbée, born as a successor model to that Santos. While generally known for its white Roman dial, like other Cartier models, there are some Santos Galbée models with a gray dial that were produced for a very limited period.
With only "Cartier" and "SWISS" inscribed and no indexes printed on the dial, it might initially appear too simple, perhaps even giving the impression that it's not a Cartier watch at all. However, this model, which was previously overlooked, is now gaining attention precisely because it matches the sensibilities of the current era.
(Top) The "Ghost" dial, where the Cartier inscription seems to melt into the dial and disappear depending on the light.
(Bottom) The original bracelet features a more classic design with the Cartier logo on the buckle.
These two pieces include the Ref. 2961, a combination of K18YG and stainless steel. The styling of combining K18YG and stainless steel, which is very common today, was originally introduced to the world by the Santos in 1978 and became popular throughout the 80s.
Even in the Santos Galbée, a successor to the Santos, the combination styling works exceptionally well. Furthermore, this particular piece is characterized by its dial, which was originally gray but has aged to a slightly taupe color, allowing the K18YG and stainless steel materials to blend together even more harmoniously.
Even rarer than the combination model is the second piece, Ref. 2960. While the gray dial is already simple, the all-stainless steel watch case further accentuates this impression to the greatest possible extent.
Both movements are automatic, and the size is the LM size of that era. The restrained size, not found in current Cartier models, matches the understated impression of the watch perfectly, making it a comfortable volume for both men and women.
(Top) The all-stainless steel model gives an even more austere impression compared to the combination model.
(Bottom) These two pieces, increasingly difficult to obtain, were fortunately acquired during a recent buying trip to Hong Kong.
Its understated impression, which might make one feel it's more of a bracelet than a watch, might diverge somewhat from what is generally expected of a wristwatch. In fact, due to its simple design, one might only realize it's a Cartier product by looking at the sapphire cabochon on the crown.
However, many people can likely understand that this unassertive design is precisely what suits the current era.
This is luxury truly sought after in today's world: unpretentious, neither overtly masculine nor feminine, a piece that asks about the personality of the wearer themselves.
Similar to the other watches we have introduced in AFTER, this piece doesn't put the watch itself in the forefront, but rather blends with the wearer's style, enhancing their charm.
