santos

Cartier Santos 100 Carbon Chronograph Watch

Cartier jumps on the DLC (diamond-like carbon coating) bandwagon, but with something a bit different. They use something called ADLC for this new Santos 100 Carbon Chronograph watch model. ADLC is apparently a superior form of DLC which is known as "amorphous diamond-like carbon" coating. According to Cartier, ADLC is thicker, less prone to finger prints, and overall more "Cartier." No, I just made that last one up, but it is something I can almost hear them saying. At this point I don't know enough about ADLC to comment so I would consider the improvement over normal DLC to be less than substantial, otherwise everyone would be using it. Aside from the use of ADLC coated steel, the fabric strap takes this formal watch to a new sporty level - and the 18k rose gold bezel and other accents looks great against the black on the classic looking Santos design.

The Cartier Santos 100 Carbon Chronograph uses the Cartier automatic 8630 movement that is laid out with unique widely placed subdials - something you don't see very often. I like how the hands are relatively bold for a Cartier timepiece, as it is almost strange not seeing them in blued steel. It appears that Cartier retained the crown cabochon crystal - with maybe an onyx as opposed to a sapphire on this watch. Overall the style is a real hybrid between functional sport watches and the formal good looks that Cartier is so well known for. An interesting watch with 100 meters of water resistance that will appeal to enough people I am sure. Price will retail at 22,700 euros.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 100, adlc, carbon, cartier, chronograph, dlc, santos, watch

Cartier Santos 100 Squelette Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

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.

Tags: cartier, santos, santos 100 squelette, Santos100Squelette, sihh 2009, Sihh2009, timepiece, watch