Written By: Christine Texeira

Cartier was the name that helped to popularize the modern day wristwatch. At a time when pocket watches were the fashionable norm, Louis Cartier introduced the very first wristwatch for men. In 1904 he created the watch and called it the Santos after Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian pilot who needed to be able to tell time without removing his hands from the airplane controls. With such phenomenal and innovative history, Cartier’s Santos collection has only grown and improved within the following century. Available for women, Cartier’s Santos W25075Z5 is a feminine and classic timepiece.

This watch is completely a watch for women, yet it uses masculine trends and watch themes to create a delicate watch. The stainless steel band is made up of basket weave-type links that, if larger, would be perfectly appropriate on a man’s wristwatch. But here, in their diminutive size and linked in only a 12mm wide band, it uses those masculine, classic features to create a softer look. The band will stay on your wrist with a hidden deployment clasp, which is exceptional in keeping the watch secure and fastened at all times.

Opposite the clasp, the band connects to a continuation of stainless steel in the watch case. Though square, the edges are smoothed and rounded giving it, again, a softer look despite the masculine feature of a square shape. On the right of the case is a stainless steel crown in an octagonal shape with an inset faceted pink spinel. Spinel is a popular mineral to use within Cartier’s crowns, but unlike other women’s watches the Santos W25075Z5’s crown does not extend overly far outside the case.

The pink of the crown’s spinel inset is matched in the face itself. Pink Mother of Pearl serves as the background to large, black roman numeral hour markers at every single hour. The numerals angle and bend as they fit around a square. Mirroring the square shape of the case, these black notches of the internal square are minute markers to make the telling of time a simple task. Also assisting in this task are the watch hands—sword-shaped hour and minute hands in a blued steel.

Other Features:

• Anti-reflective sapphire crystal
• Swiss-Quartz movement
• Water-resistant to 100 feet

Cartier’s Santos W25075Z5 is a beautiful adjustment of masculine features that served as the inspiration for the Santos collection over one hundred years ago. If you like the details of this watch, but would like a different color face, a wider band or a gold band try others in the Santos collection for women (W25064Z5, WF9003Y8, W25063X9). The W25075Z5, however, is a fantastic combination of color and subtle elegance to produce a classic timepiece for any occasion.