Vintage Cartier Santos Galbee 24mm steel and gold

A stylish vintage Cartier Santos Galbee 24mm steel and gold wrist watch with quartz movement.

The watch features a 24 mm stainless steel and 18 carat gold case with white dial, Roman numerals, and sapphire glass. The watch has a Quartz movement and sapphire cabochon crown, a signature of Cartier. The Cartier symbol is embossed on the deployant clasp.

As the story goes, in 1904, Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont complained to friend Louis Cartier about the unreliability and impracticality of using a pocket watch while flying. Cartier designed a flat wristwatch with a square bezel and gave it to Santos, and the watch eventually caught on with other customers. Thus, the first mass-produced men’s wristwatch (and first pilot’s watch) was born. While there’s debate about the first humans to take flight – Santos-Dumont or the Wright brothers – there is no debate about the first men’s wristwatch. What also can’t be debated is that Santos-Dumont became the first person to be filmed in an airplane flight in November 1906 when he took flight for 21.5 seconds, with a Cartier watch on his wrist.
The watch has been fully serviced by Cartier. As such, it comes with a two-year international warranty from its creator, valid to September 2026. All our watches are provided with a complimentary valuation for insurance purposes.

Model reference: 1057930
Serial number : 16643

Year: c. 1990s
Case size 24mm
Box and Papers: Service papers from Cartier