Cartier watches: the evolution of the Santos Galbee "automatic" and "quartz"

To watch the video "Small Santos Galbe that stylish people should wear!," click here.

In today's video, I will be talking about the small Santos Galve, a watch that fashionable people should wear.

The Santos Galve is a long-selling model that was produced for about 30 years, during which time its style has changed slightly.

I'm looking for a stylish watch that's different from others, and the Santos Galve is on my list of options. I want to buy it.

If you are thinking this way, by the time you finish reading this article you will know what kind of Santos Galbe you should choose to be a great companion, so please read to the end.

The evolution of Santos Galbee's "automatic" and "quartz" movements

The Santos Galbe is a model that was born in 1987. The original Santos was born in 1978, but the Santos Galbe was redesigned with a curved shape to make it fit better on the wrist.

Therefore, the "galbe" in Santos Galbe means "curved" in French.

Although the Santos Galvee continued to be sold in parallel with the Santos 100 in 2002, production of the Santos Galvee essentially came to an end around this time, although it was sold in parallel for a short time.

If you are interested in the history of Santos, please see here.

Now, let me briefly explain the differences between the Santos Galbee, Santos 100, and the current Santos de Cartier.

What is the difference between Santos Galvee, Santos 100, and the current Santos?

The prototype designs are all basically the same, the only difference is the size.

The smallest is the Santos Galve, followed by the Santos 100, and the largest is the current Santos.

This means that older models are smaller and newer models are larger.

This is a minor difference, but the shape of the bezel has also changed in the latest model.

Until then, the bezel was square, but in the current model, the bezels at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock have been changed to a design that extends toward the strap.

The change in bezel design doesn't have a huge impact, but it does affect the size.

Even the smallest MM size of the current model is 35mm, which is classified as a small size for men by modern standards.

By the way, the LM size of the Santos 100 is 38mm, while the current Santos de Cartier LM size is 39.8mm, so they are modern standard sizes.

As for the Santos Galve, it is 29mm.

Listening to the story so far, it feels so small.

However, we recommend this model for those with slender wrists or who like smaller watches.

Now, let me explain the charm of this little Santos Galbe.

The Charm of Santos Galbe

First of all, a watch is an item that is worn all day long, so if you are not wearing a watch that fits your wrist, it can cause stress while wearing it.

What I mean is, if someone with thin arms chooses a large watch, it will basically shake a lot and feel less stable, which will be bothersome.

Also, although I haven't had that experience yet, once you reach your 50s or older, a large watch starts to feel heavy if you use it on a daily basis.

We often hear this question from our customers.

Also, the impact of the thickness of the watch should not be overlooked.

I also think that the thickness of the watch is quite large, and the thicker it is, the less stable it will be when worn on the wrist.

Therefore, people with thin arms will find that a smaller watch is more comfortable than a larger one, but if you go further and choose a thin model, it will fit your wrist better.

But even if I knew that, the current Santos doesn't meet those conditions, so I wouldn't have the choice to choose it in the first place.

When trying to meet these conditions, Santos Garbe is one of the candidates that comes to mind.

As I mentioned earlier, the watch case is small at 29mm, and the Santos is a model in which the bracelet is integrated into the watch to begin with, but because the watch is small, the weight including the bracelet does not feel like a heavy burden.

Currently, we mainly deal with Cartier, so we don't have any female customers who come alone, but there are some who come with their wives and say that they can use the Tank and other watches for both, and it's actually attractive that women can wear them as well with this size.

The reason for this is that, since we are male customers, there are times when I want something but can't get my wife's approval, and so I thought, "This can be used by both men, so why not just buy it since it's Cartier?"

If you speak with this kind of nuance, the hurdle for forgiveness might be lowered a little.

Also, the image of watches is that large watches are sports watches and small watches are dress watches, so we think that small watches go well with words like "elegant" and "sophisticated."

Now, let's take a look at the gradual changes in style over the 30 years of production, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of automatic and quartz models.

Let's take a look at the difference in Santos Galbe's design

First of all, the Santos Galbe is only available in automatic and quartz models.

By the way, there is a model called "Santos-Dumont" that has the name Santos, and this is a hand-wound model.

This is also available in new models currently on sale, so please take a look.

Returning to the topic at hand, the difference between the automatic and quartz Santos Galbes is the location of the date.

For automatic models, it is located at the 3 o'clock position, and for quartz models, it is located at the 6 o'clock position.

The style of the belt also changes between the early and later models.

The early model belts taper towards the buckle, while the later model belts remain the same width from the lugs to the buckle.

The buckle closure is also different: the early model has a one-way opening buckle, while the later model has a double opening buckle.

The reason for this change is that the earlier model was designed during the luxury sports boom that began towards the end of the 1970s, and at the time, the designs, including leather straps, generally tapered towards the buckle.

From then on, as wristwatches gradually became larger, the design of the straps was changed to match the watches, and later models adopted a style in which the straps extended from the lugs while maintaining the same thickness.

That's the only difference you'll notice at a glance.

Depending on the design, there are some watches that are only available as automatic models and others that are only available as quartz models, but as long as you know where the date is located, there shouldn't be a problem.

That's the only visible difference on the surface, and from here on we'll explain the smaller differences.

First of all, fundamentally, both quartz and automatic watches are made to be thin, but due to the nature of the movement, quartz watches are thinner, so we will explain the difference between them.

This is a quartz model.

It's the thinnest one, so it fits perfectly on your wrist.

It is lighter than an automatic watch, has a nice design and is functional.

This is an early model automatic winding watch.

This was the first model when the Santos Galbe was born, and it is equipped with an automatic winding mechanism, but as you can see when compared to a quartz model, it is thicker due to the movement.

The thickness of the actual measurement and the eye is definitely thicker, When you actually put it on your wrist, it hardly feels thick at all.

This is the later model with automatic winding.

This model was released around 2000, and compared to the earlier model, the protruding back cover has been significantly reduced.

As times change, the movements have become thinner and fit better on the wrist.

I've explained the differences between the three styles above, but since they are all thin to begin with, I think it's okay to think of the thinness as being mostly within the margin of error.

Which is better: automatic or quartz?

The question now is: automatic or quartz?

This is the problem.

Both automatic and quartz movements are excellent ways of working, but I think it's best to choose based on the lifestyle you lead.

Normally, I sit in front of my computer like this to write manuscripts or create videos, but when I wear an automatic watch at that time, the magnetic stripe bothers me a little, so I switch to a quartz watch when doing desk work.

On the other hand, today is a holiday.

On days when I've decided not to touch any of those things, I choose an automatic or manual winding watch.

If you own multiple pens, you can use them in this way, but I'm sure there are some people who are just getting their first one, so in that case, you'll need to think about when you plan to wear it.

It's advisable to keep this in mind when purchasing.

What is Vintage Quartz Really Like?

I think many people have concerns about this.

Quartz watches are essentially like an electronic appliance inside a watch, so as long as you have it overhauled just like a manual or automatic watch, you can rest assured that it will last for 100 years.

That's not the case.

If necessary, we will also replace the quartz IC, crystal tube, coil, and other components inside the board.

After making such repairs, we can get the device working properly, but there is actually an even more advanced, special technique that we can use.

It seems that this is not widely known, but if you have a Cartier watch, if you take it to a Cartier boutique, they will replace the entire movement for you.

Therefore, if your watch has a quartz movement, they will replace it with the latest movement.

Of course, it will cost money, but I think they will replace it for around 45,000 yen these days, and if it means you can use it for many years again, then it's probably a cheap price.

When it comes to quartz, whether you know these things or not makes a big difference in the sense of security you have when owning a quartz watch.

Which is better, mechanical or quartz? I talk about my thoughts in detail here, so please check out this video too.

So I have explained the evolutionary history of the Santos Galbe and the differences between it and the current model, but if you look at other brands, including new watches, you will find that there are many models to choose from.

So why choose Santos Galve from among so many models available?

When I think about it, I think the biggest reason is that they prioritized style and ended up choosing Galbe.

After all, Cartier watches have beautiful designs compared to other brands, and I think they are a brand that goes well with the word "stylish."

I would love for such fashionable people to get their hands on Santos Galbe.