The first-ever wristwatch designed for men, the Santos is a flex watch without the flex, a minimalistic piece built upon over a century of heritage
In Oliver Stone’s 1987 film Wall Street, ruthless corporate raider Gordon Gekko admonishes his apprentice in the backseat of a limo, “If you’re not inside, you are outside.” As he delivers this line, a justification for illegal insider trading, Gekko (Michael Douglas) is wearing a gold Cartier Santos, strategically picked out by the costume department as a decidedly “insider” watch. After all, Gekko sits at the very top of the 1980s "greed is good'' financial universe: he is the wolf of Wall Street. Conversely, his apprentice Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), is wearing a Panthère – another gold Cartier watch, yes, but a piece that sits on the other end of the spectrum. Whereas the Panthère represents a sort of lighthearted ease, the Santos is used in this film as an elegant signifier of power. Over the years, the Panthère took a more femme turn – formerly the favorite of stars like Pierce Brosnan and Keith Richards, it is now coveted by Zendaya and Bella Hadid – earning it the title of the “It-Girl Watch.” But from its very conception, the Cartier Santos is, and remains today, a top choice of the it-boys.
There is a lot of debate around which is the first-ever wristwatch designed for men, but for the purpose of this piece, let’s go with the Santos. As legend has it, the idea for this watch came about as a creative solution to a high-flying problem: how can a pilot safely keep time while competing in the sky? In conversation with his friend Louis Cartier, Brazilian pilot Alberto Santos-Dumont lamented the difficulty of checking his pocket watch mid-flight, which required taking his hands off the controls. Remember that this dilemma arose in the early 1900s, when men wouldn’t deign to wear a wristwatch, a jewelry-forward accessory favored by women for centuries. “To suggest that the great Alberto Santos-Dumont should wear anything resembling one of these female decorations,” writes Francesca Cartier Brickell in The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire, “would have been absurd.” Louis therefore had to go back to the drawing board, wracking his brain to ideate a design suitable for men.
Thus, the Santos was born: a square, gold-rimmed watch face ingeniously assembled with the addition of lugs to securely attach it to a leather strap. Simple, stylish and functional, Cartier’s wristwatch indefinitely changed the game for the watch industry; but in 1904, it was still quite bold to suggest wrist candy for men. “Fortunately, he had the best brand ambassador in town,” says Francesca Cartier Brickell. “Santos wearing Louis’ watch was the most effective endorsement Cartier could have wished for.” Indeed, the young pilot was an it-boy on the local scene, famously party-hopping around Paris in a little airship that he would tie up to lamp posts. Santos’s charming X factor, along with his global celebrity status, lent Cartier far-reaching visibility, leading to a wide release of the watch in 1911 (affectionately named the Santos-Dumont).
The Santos has undergone several iterations and name-changes since 1904, notably graced with an integrated bracelet in 1978 (the Santos de Cartier) to meet the newfound hunger for luxury sports watches. It is around this time that the watch experiences a true comeback, chosen by the likes of everyone from our friend Gordon Gekko to Lou Reed. Reed was an underground hero, a true outsider representing the antithesis to Gekko’s overtly capitalist essence; and, yet, these two men wore the same watch. Why? They both had it. “An it-boy doesn’t deal in hype,” Zach Blass, Deputy Editor of Time+Tide tells me. “He is a trend-setter, rather than a trend-follower.” Thus, according to Blass, the timelessness of the Cartier Santos is a seamless choice for men like this. “It’s ultimately prestige without peacocking: you don’t beg for attention, but you get it anyway.” This sums up why Santos has an ever-relevant appeal today. It’s a flex watch without the flex, a minimalistic piece built upon over a century of heritage. In other words, “IYKYK.”
When asked about why he recently bought a vintage steel mid-sized Santos, comedian and entrepreneur Kareem Rahma owes the entirety of his choice to that of his predecessors: “Jerry Seinfeld and Lou Reed are two of my idols. I wanted it because they rocked it.” Seinfeld wore it on his eponymous, insanely successful sitcom, bringing it into the homes of the mainstream via their color televisions. “It is fascinating to see a watch make a third comeback with people falling back in love with the ‘80s/’90s version,” antique and luxury watch dealer Alan Bedwell tells me. “This just illustrates the iconic design and staying power of Cartier’s most distinctive watch.” Even the leather-strapped Santos-Dumont has reemerged on it-boy du jour Tyler, the Creator, whose old-school taste has developed to harken back to the more original version of the watch.
Bedwell contextualizes the more petite vintage iterations of the Santos against the unfortunate “hulkification” of the newer models, which I too am not as keen on. But that really just comes down to personal taste; and let me tell you, it-boys are sporting the new pieces just as proudly. Most recently, we saw Adrian Brody rocking the large yellow gold Cartier Santos on the first Monday in May. “It is a robust yet elegant piece, equally at home on the Met Gala red carpet as it is taking laps in the pool,” says Blass, who himself prefers the medium size, along with stylist and HighSnobiety watch editor Malaika Crawford. “I usually prefer wearing smaller watches,” she wrote to me over text, “but the 2018 medium Santos de Cartier in yellow gold is so 70s, so chic, so Charlotte Rampling.” So, yes, even a version from this generation is reminiscent of its vintage forebears. Equally chic celebrities like Daniel Kaluuya and Mahershala Ali wear skeletonized versions of the Santos de Cartier, only furthering its it-boy status. It has also been countlessly chopped and screwed, iced out and flossified by a range of musicians from Pushin P rapper Gunna to the legendary Nas.
Malaika Crawford chose the Santos as her idea of a “success watch” in HODINKEE’s “Three on Three” series, claiming its ability to make her feel strong. “I love this watch because it has a very masculine vibe without looking overly aggressive on my wrist,” she explained, championing its gender-neutrality. I myself styled Willa Bennett, GQ’s Director of social media, in a vintage gold version for her debut at the Met Gala. Bennett has been pushing the limits of gendered dressing ever since she was a teenager (rocking a tie before Avril Lavigne made it cool); and placing her in this watch to accessorize her YSL tux just felt right. Although initially designed to effectively change the public’s perception of a watch from being a frilly female accessory to a men’s staple, the Santos is proportioned to look flattering on any sized wrist, which is why we ultimately love Cartier’s designs. It-boy, it-girl… whatever you choose to call yourself, this level of swag is all a mindset – a principle that Louis Cartier understood a whole century before the term “swag” was probably even uttered. The question is, are you worthy?
Frequently Asked Questions
The Santos is worn by icons and trend-setters like Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) in Wall Street, Jerry Seinfeld, Lou Reed, Tyler, the Creator, Adrian Brody, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali, and even musicians like Nas. It's a choice of the "it-boys."
Absolutely! It's robust yet elegant, making it perfect for daily wear, from formal events to casual settings.
Wearing a Santos says you're prestigious without being showy, a trend-setter not a follower, and you command attention subtly. It's about having swag and a certain X factor.
It's the first-ever wristwatch designed for men, symbolizing over a century of heritage, elegance, and simplicity. It changed the watch industry and remains a timeless piece for the fashion-forward.
Yes, it's versatile enough to be a dress watch, perfect for formal occasions like the Met Gala and even looks great with a tuxedo.
No, it was designed as a masculine watch but is praised for its gender-neutrality, looking flattering on any wrist and loved for its masculine vibe without being overly aggressive.
