Its the 1970s and the Swiss watch industry is in disarray. The Japanese have introduced a new watch technology to the world: Quartz. Not only did quartz prove to be more accurate, it was easier to manufacturer. Its dearth of craftmanship and absence of hand crafted quality enabled watches to be produced at scale for a fraction of the price. This is where things became interesting. The Swiss watch industry was now at a crossroads. Retrospectively analyzing the decisions of various companies reveals two schools of thinking or strategies rather. One the one side you had brands doubling down. Think Rolex, Patek, Vacheron. Thereby potentiating their status and position in the Luxury segment. Conversely, you had others who decided to play ball. Think Omega amongst others. This decision damaged the reputation of the later companies for decades. They were no longer viewed as a luxury good and worse they couldn't make watches quartz cheap enough at scale to compete with the Japanese. Regardless of which camp a company resided in one thing was apparent: the Swiss watch industry had to get creative in order to survive. Enter Gerald Genta. Up until this point in time a majority of mechanical wrist watches were encased in precious metals. Save for the great wars, materials like steel were not heavily used especially amongst the big three. Then Genta rocked the world and his creative designs would reshape an entire industry forever. He designed the Royal Oak and Nautilus in quick succession. One key feature in his design is an all steel case with an integrated steel bracelet. The design was then marketed as a industrialized and robust. The first steel product perceived as a luxury good. You see, the influencers of the late 70's and 80's were more relaxed than there earlier generation counterparts. They weren't as stuffy but still had a desire to show their wealth. While not instantaneously a hit, these revolutionary designs gained feet and other companies had to catch up. The Santos Carree references 2960 (Steel) and 2961 (two-tone) was Cartiers answer to Gentas designs. You can see the influence yet both are still unapologetically Cartier. In my humble opinion, the perfect design between industrial and class.
ABOUT THIS WATCH:
MANUFACTURER: Cartier
MODEL: Santos "Carree"
REFERENCE: 2961
SERIAL: 2962xxxxx
YEAR: 1990s
DIAL: The original, lacquered, white Roman numeral dial is in fantastic shape. Often times these dials develop a cracking or "spidering" of the lacquer. This one remains free of any visible cracking and is great shape. It features a quick set date at the 3 o'clock position and the hidden signature at 7 o'clock.
CASE: The 29mm x 41mm stainless steel case has just returned from a fresh polish and presents with very minimal wear.
MOVEMENT: Cartier marked ETA automatic movement. The service history is unknown. The watch winds, sets, runs and keeps good time. The watch was timed over 24hrs. Those 24hrs included periods of wear and non-wear and was compared to atomic EST. After 24hrs the watch seconds in a day.
BRACELET: The original, two tone yellow gold and stainless steel bracelet was recently polished and presents with very minimal wear from use. 22 links total. This is the upgraded bracelet that was introduced for later references with the integrated butterfly clasp.
ACCESSORIES: None.
BOX/PAPERS: No.
WARRANTY: None.
BANK WIRE PRICE: $3,750 shipped.
