Santos 100

The Cartier Santos 100 marks the centenary of its ancestor, Cartier's Santos watch, and features its timeless enigmatic style.

The Santos 100's automatic movement is considered to be one of the best watch movements in Swiss watch craftsmanship.

All of this is protected by a tough Cartier watch exterior. The Santos 100 with a scratch-resistant synthetic sapphire crystal dial with a deployment clasp. And when the Santos 100 watch enters the water, as Cartier has designed it to be waterproof to 100 metres.

Its release continues Cartier's grant tradition in watch making that dates back to 1904. Cartier Santos is frequently considered a model that has gone down in watch history, forming a large part of the company's heritage and a symbol of its significant effects on fashion.

Back in 1904, the Cartier Santos watch didn't exist. In fact, no men's watch existed. Louis Cartier came to change this, as a man who's often credited for creating the first mans wristwatch that year - the Santos.

Cartier was approached by his good friend and client Brazilian Alberto Santos-Dumont. Santos-Dumont was an early pioneer of aviation, and he needed a more suitable timepiece for his dare devil flights. When he requested such an object from Cartier, the Santos watch was born.

This wristwatch didn't go on general sale until 1911. By then, Cartier had begun the production of the world's first wristwatches in Paris, assisted by Edmond Jaeger.

However, there were minds to be changed before the Cartier Santos watch could take off. In the early twentieth century, any man wearing a wristwatch was making a daring statement. The classic pocket watch was considered the only timepiece any gentleman should carry.

The Santos played a major role in changing this perception. Following this success, Cartier produced other classic designs, including Cartier's signature timepiece, the Tank Cartier and Cartier's first water-resistant watch was named after the Pasha of Marrakesh. Similar to the birth of the Santos, the Pasha was created for a man who requested a watch he could use whilst swimming, allowing him to keep track of time.

Cartier's creations have remained special and fashionable because it has always made watches in a variety of shapes, round, square, tortue, tonneau, rectangular, and oval, rather than limiting itself. But in the Santos 100, the classic curved corners remain a bold statement of watch tradition.

The design of Cartier's Santos 100, remaining true to its 100 year old predecessor, yet with a modern edge, manages to display a sense of the classic and modern at the same time. And just as when Cartier released its original Santos watch, the Santos 100 continues to evoke a strong fashion statement today.

Cartier's jewellery for women has always been among the most beautiful in the world. In turn, the various guises of the Cartier Santos 100, from the black crocodile strap and steel case to Gold case and brown alligator bracelet, provide the wearer with something much more than a watch.

Since it began with the Cartier Watch Santos in 1904, Cartier has consistently used the highest quality components for its watch cases, dials and movements, and the Santos 100 is no different.

• Cartier Tank
• Cartier Roadster