It was only a matter of time before the
Cartier Santos got the skeletonized treatment. It has been already been done with most of their other popular watch lines. At SIHH 2009 this month, Cartier will debut the limited edition Santos 100 Squelette watch based on the Santos XL case size. This large 46.5mm x 55mm classic square "tank" case will hold a finely carved Cartier individually numbered manually-wound caliber 9611MC movement, with a 72 hour power reserve. Through sapphire crystals on the front and rear of the watch, you can literally see right through to the other side, clearly viewing all watch operations with each glance. You have to give Cartier credit for shaving as much metal off the movement as possible.
Unlike most skeletonized watches, the watch face is literally carved into the movement. That way you still get Cartier's signature use of Roman numeral hour markers. The Santos 100 Squelette case is constructed from palladium, that looks great with contrasting polished and brushed surfaces. The blued steel hands complete the beautiful look of this exotic Cartier watch.
Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site
aBlogtoRead.com.
