Considering switching to a Santos. Thoughts?

[Chinch07]

I rotate between ~10 watches. Most autos, a couple cool quartz, and my AW Ultra. I choose my watch based on outfit, mood, activity…etc

On top of that, watches have gone in and out of the collection over the years.

If you’re a watch person, this is pretty normal behavior. I’m aware for most people I sound like a lunatic lol

All this to say, get the Cartier and keep the Apple Watch and then purchase more watches and become crazy like me…🤞

 

[Analog Kid]

Why do you compare consumer electronics gadget with a luxury mechanical watch?

Because there's one place to put it so you need to pick one. They clearly said they won't wear one on each wrist, so if they aren't the type of person to keep changing what they wear they need to decide between the gadget and the luxury watch.

 

[Analog Kid]

I'm on the cusp of buying a Santos De Cartier.

I don't do that double wristing silliness, so my Apple Watch (and 61 straps!) will be laid to rest.

I'm just not sure whether to do it or not?

I love the customisability of the Apple Watch, also little things like unlocking my Macs, Apple Pay etc, but I have always just loved the Santos.

Let me know what you think.

Love you all.

Tommy.

This went a different direction than I expected from the title-- I thought it was going to be another petty complaint thread. That Santos is a nice looking watch, and if I could justify the cost I'd love a quality mechanical watch.

Wear what you enjoy. I'd probably keep the straps unless you need to sell them to finance the new purchase-- Apple's kept the same mounting points for years, so may for years more. You may decide some future AW iteration catches your fancy again in the future.

 

[Analog Kid]

How about getting the watch that Tom Brady wore while at the Super Bowl...

https://jacobandco.com/timepieces/caviar-tourbillon

"That watch looks like a pile of money. I'll take it."

 

[surferfb]

"That watch looks like a pile of money. I'll take it."

The mechanical watch subreddits and forums I frequent have been roasting him all day. Either he has no taste, or they paid him a metric ton of money to wear it. Either way it’s ridiculous.

 

[Rainshadow]

I'm on the cusp of buying a Santos De Cartier.

I don't do that double wristing silliness, so my Apple Watch (and 61 straps!) will be laid to rest.

I'm just not sure whether to do it or not?

I love the customisability of the Apple Watch, also little things like unlocking my Macs, Apple Pay etc, but I have always just loved the Santos.

Let me know what you think.

Love you all.

Tommy.

Yea. I’m not one to encourage anyone to buy a watch that expensive. In my mind there is ALWAYS something more useful.

But. The heart wants… and if you can afford it…

My only problem with this question is:

If you have enough money to buy this watch, then sincerely, why wouldn’t you just have both? It’s not like the Apple Watch is THAT expensive in comparison. And clearly you must have disposable income.

Ask me? No way I would spend that kind of money on a watch. Ever. Ever.

But. If you want to, and can, then have both.

 

[KennyJr]

Same dilemma here .. Finally ended up displaying my most beautiful watch on my desk right there with a family picture (the rest are in my watch winder case). This way I get to look at it often but unfortunately it's not there for others to see. There are just too many Apple Watch features that I've found that are important in my life, features that I'm not willing to part with.

That said, I can't imagine not wearing a Santos De Cartier watch if I had the privilege of owning one. Have you considered a Apple Watch watch fob (available in Amazon).

 

[JohnRckr]

Well you have a watch already, so why get another?
It’s not like you’re gonna gain more time.

 

[cogzero]

Follow your heart. Also, if you are willing to consider devices outside of Apple's ecosystem, there are a few decent smart rings out there that would allow you to retain a bit of the AW functionality.

 

[QCassidy352]

I personally don’t get the luxury watch thing. Most are actually pretty ugly (gaudy, chunky, clumsy) and all are minimally functional. They’re just jewelry, and—with rare exceptions—not particularly nice jewelry, either. If you offered me one (be it this watch in particular or any luxury watch) for free, and I couldn’t sell it, I’d decline.

I love AW because of what it can do. The idea of replacing it with a mostly inert lump of metal (that costs tens to hundreds of times as much) boggles my mind.

That said… beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it ain’t my money. Buy and wear what makes you happy. I just hope it’s not to impress people because most of us won’t be.

 

[Tenkaykev]

I'm on the cusp of buying a Santos De Cartier.

I don't do that double wristing silliness, so my Apple Watch (and 61 straps!) will be laid to rest.

I'm just not sure whether to do it or not?

I love the customisability of the Apple Watch, also little things like unlocking my Macs, Apple Pay etc, but I have always just loved the Santos.

Let me know what you think.

Love you all.

Tommy.

Wear it on your ankle.

 

[john123]

Sorry, never been able understand why someone would want to put a watch costing a minimum of US$7K on their wrist (I have enough resistance to doing so with an Apple Watch). Too easy to bash it or end up on the wrong end of a mugging and being robbed. But that’s just me.

Wait — there’s a “right” end of a mugging???

 

[stanza.richi]

I read a lot of silly answers about your question from people that think that asking something like this here isn’t the right thing to do. But forums are made for this kinds of things, I think.

By the way, my experience with mechanical watches and AW in brief: AW since 2017 to 2021, than received a vintage manual Longines from my grandfather and felt in the world of mechanical watches. Now I’ve got a Rolex Submariner, bought in 2022 for the birth of my son, and a Tissot Gentleman, gifted from my wife in 2024, and I’ using one of this two everyday on my left wrist with my AW Ultra 2 on my right wrist.

Why this? Because I love to see the beautiful of a mechanical watch but I’m not ready to take of health data, apple pay and (the few important) notifications from my other wrist 🤷🏻‍♂️

The Cartier Santos that you are looking is really beautiful and you could want to use it every day but, at the same time, you may will miss your AW. So my advice is this: be ready to double-wristing.

 

[TracerAnalog]

I rotate between ~10 watches. Most autos, a couple cool quartz, and my AW Ultra. I choose my watch based on outfit, mood, activity…etc

On top of that, watches have gone in and out of the collection over the years.

If you’re a watch person, this is pretty normal behavior. I’m aware for most people I sound like a lunatic lol

All this to say, get the Cartier and keep the Apple Watch and then purchase more watches and become crazy like me…🤞

Quartz 🫣. Just kidding. Strictly mechanical for me, or, the ultimate opposite of that: my AW Ultra. #watchsnob 😝

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

The Cartier is gorgeous, but be very careful wearing that in London. You'd never get robbed for your Apple Watch but that Cartier would be a prime target. My friends husband got robbed in Finsbury Park before Christmas for his MacBook, iPhone and Omega watch. Left him with a fractured eye socket and considerable anxiety. Not sure I'd wear any of my mechanicals as a daily anymore but love wearing them on occasions with work or leisure when I have to dress up smart.

 

[CooperBox]

I'm on the cusp of buying a Santos De Cartier.

I don't do that double wristing silliness, so my Apple Watch (and 61 straps!) will be laid to rest.

I'm just not sure whether to do it or not?

I love the customisability of the Apple Watch, also little things like unlocking my Macs, Apple Pay etc, but I have always just loved the Santos.

Let me know what you think.

Love you all.

Tommy.

This is a difficult one to answer as surely it's a personal choice.
Fwiw, whilst on a business trip 25 years ago I bought a vintage Cartier Santos octagon mechanical watch for my wife as a surprise gift.



She liked the look of it and appreciated my thought but......she wore it probably 5 times just after the purchase but since then it's never been worn. She claimed, "The time's never correct when I put it on!" Well it wouldn't be if laid to rest for a few days.
I had it serviced in 2016 and the watchmaker commented on the delightful mechanical movement. I'm sad it isn't worn. Meanwhile the Cartier is still in it's original red case. She wears and loves a pretty basic quartz Swatch.
She wouldn't want an AWatch if I offered her one, and neither would I for the unpracticality of regular charging, and frequent diminishing value every time a new model is released. But everyone to their own.
As a keen watch collector, personally I could recommended a few other superb 'high-end' mechanical watches which imho offer far superior value than a men's Cartier Santos. However this isn't the forum for that.

 

[The Cockney Rebel]

This is a difficult one to answer as surely it's a personal choice.
Fwiw, whilst on a business trip 25 years ago I bought a vintage Cartier Santos octagon mechanical watch for my wife as a surprise gift.

View attachment 2481119

She liked the look of it and appreciated my thought but......she wore it probably 5 times just after the purchase but since then it's never been worn. She claimed, "The time's never correct when I put it on!" Well it wouldn't be if laid to rest for a few days.
I had it serviced in 2016 and the watchmaker commented on the delightful mechanical movement. I'm sad it isn't worn. Meanwhile the Cartier is still in it's original red case. She wears and loves a pretty basic quartz Swatch.
She wouldn't want an AWatch if I offered her one, and neither would I for the unpracticality of regular charging. But everyone to their own.

Swatch reminds me of good days.

 

[fatTribble]

Friends of mine who like mechanical watches have several of them if not more. No reason to buy a watch only to say that’s the only watch you’ll ever wear again. Personally I wear my Apple Watch most of the time. I wear a mechanical watch to restaurants with friends sometimes.

 

[daryl1965]

I'm on the cusp of buying a Santos De Cartier.

I don't do that double wristing silliness, so my Apple Watch (and 61 straps!) will be laid to rest.

I'm just not sure whether to do it or not?

I love the customisability of the Apple Watch, also little things like unlocking my Macs, Apple Pay etc, but I have always just loved the Santos.

Let me know what you think.

Love you all.

Tommy.

If you ask 1000 people their views or opinions you will get 1000 different responses.
The fact you are asking for others to weigh in speaks volumes for you decision making skills , no offence dude

 

[Rainshadow]

If you ask 1000 people their views or opinions you will get 1000 different responses.
The fact you are asking for others to weigh in speaks volumes for you decision making skills , no offence dude

😂 What? They want to share the experience with others and have a conversation - and that bothers you? I didn’t take the original post to be asking permission. Just reaching out to some “friends” to update them.

If you don’t do this when making new exciting decisions, maybe you should try it. It’s therapeutic, can be entertaining, and allows more perspectives to refine an otherwise seemingly monotonous choice. It says nothing about their decision making skills.

 

[DMG35]

I personally don’t get the luxury watch thing. Most are actually pretty ugly (gaudy, chunky, clumsy) and all are minimally functional. They’re just jewelry, and—with rare exceptions—not particularly nice jewelry, either. If you offered me one (be it this watch in particular or any luxury watch) for free, and I couldn’t sell it, I’d decline.

I love AW because of what it can do. The idea of replacing it with a mostly inert lump of metal (that costs tens to hundreds of times as much) boggles my mind.

That said… beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it ain’t my money. Buy and wear what makes you happy. I just hope it’s not to impress people because most of us won’t be.

A lot of mechanical watch people would say the exact same thing you are saying about the Apple watch. A beautiful mechanical watch is more of a statement. The Apple watch is just the same watch that everyone else is wearing. In fact its one of the things I hate in that we are all walking around wearing the exact same watch. With mechanical watches there is an individualism to them and they aren't just mass produced items that everyone from your grandmother to your 12 year old niece is wearing. I guarantee you that today, I will come across no less than 30 or more people who are wearing the exact same watch as me. I love the Apple Watch but I only wear it as a utility watch that I can beat up and don't really care about.

Don't get me wrong, I do love the AW, in fact I have two of them. But I only wear them as a daily wear because I sometimes and dealing with medical equipment that can beat up a watch pretty badly and I don't really care if the AW gets nicked up as it is in the end a disposable item that has little meaning to it.

The Apple Watch has a finite lifespan and a nice watch can last forever and even be an heirloom that is passed down through generations. To each their own but I'd take a luxury mechanical watch over an Apple Watch any day of the week, and that's coming from someone who owns both.

 

[xDKP]

I have a Rolex Explorer 214270 and a 3861 Omega Speedmaster - both stunning pieces IMO and even though I use my Ultra the most, they will stay in the collection and be used some days in the office, dinners with my wife etc.

 

[Howard2k]

If you ask 1000 people their views or opinions you will get 1000 different responses.
The fact you are asking for others to weigh in speaks volumes for you decision making skills , no offence dude

"Nobody should ever ask for advice on a forum"

 

[oink_oink]

You have two wrists; wear one on each.

 

[WilliApple]

Apple Watch has stopped innovating for sure. They got to innovate in order for me to ever buy a new Apple Watch again. Specifically, Garmin Forerunner series has L5 GPS and Weeks of battery life, something that Apple does not offer.