SMALL BIG IMPACT

The iconic Santos de Cartier continues to innovate and adapt year after year, this time with small models

- by Digvijay

— It’s unarguable that in the world of watchmaking, size matters. Be it fine tolerances of movement parts or the diameter of the watch, dimensions are key. The case size though is the most visual, visceral way that size is perceived in a timepiece. A detail that was once dictated by functionality has, over time, evolved into a matter of taste, identity, and expression. Culturally, watch sizes have followed an unsaid binary. Larger cases—38 mm and beyond—are designed and marketed with gentlemen in mind, the robust dimensions even associated with masculinity, strength, and presence. Smaller watches, often delicately cased at 35 mm or below, are instinctively associated with women. Cartier, from the beginning, has played the field with watch shapes and sizes. In 1904, Louis Cartier, Parisian jeweller and grandson of the founder of the luxury house, famously created the world’s first pilot's wristwatch for friend and storied Brazilian aviator and inventor, Alberto Santos-Dumont—a square shaped wristwatch, when the world was still using round pocket watches. The model was made available to the public in 1911, simply called the Santos.

In 2025, the play with sizes continues at Cartier with the launch of Santos de Cartier small models at Watches and Wonders. Available in 27 mm x 34.5 mm, a size closer to the first historical version of the Santos, the watches come in three variations: A yellow gold (Ref. WGSA0107), the watch that is gracing the cover of this issue; a bi-metal version in yellow gold and steel (Ref. W2SA0033), and an all-steel one (Ref. WSSA0082). The watches, though dainty, are designed for women and men alike, reflecting in the brand’s marketing of the timepieces. These smaller models are powered by a high autonomy quartz movement, adapted to fit these small models.