Cartier Santos Galbee LM ref 2319 SIHH Limited Edition

Maker: Cartier

Model: Santos Galbee LM ref. 2319, limited edition

Year: 2002

Dial: Grey dial with white painted Roman Numerals. No date

Case: Steel

Case Dimensions: 41mm x 29mm

Crystal: sapphire crystal

Movement: Cartier Automatic movement, running at +4.2 sec/day

Service history: July 2022

Bracelet/Strap: Original Cartier Steel bracelet

Box/Papers: Full set- Cartier outer box, innter box, booklet case, certificate of guarantee, manual, and service papers from 2022

The Santos dates back to 1904 when Louis Cartier was asked by his Brazilian aviator friend, Alberto Santos Dumont, to design a watch that he could wear during his solo flights around Paris. With this, Louis Cartier came up with the Santos Dumont, which can be considered the world's first pilots watch. Fast forward to the 1970's and amidst the quartz crisis Cartier released the Santos de Cartier watch model. The Santos was born in 1978 as a result of Cartier’s decision to try to appeal to a younger crowd who leaned towards sportier watches. In order to give the new Santos a modern look, Cartier gave the watch an integrated bracelet instead of a traditional leather strap. Cartier made the bracelet in stainless steel, a true change in course for the maison that had only worked with precious metal in the past. In 1987, Cartier further made updates to the Santos and launched the Santos Galbee. The Santos Galbee had a slightly more curved case along with a new bracelet which gave it a more streamlined look than its predecessor.

This particular Santos Galbee ref 2319 is a very special and uncommon Santos. Released at the 2002 SIHH tradeshow in Singapore it was limited to just 2000 pieces. The watch features a distinct grey dial with no date and luminous hands. It further sports crown guards with the signature blue sapphire cabochon on the crown and has ‘Cartier’ and ‘automatic’ printed on the dial. All of these intricate details make this Santos very special compared to the more commonly found white and silvered dial Santos Carree and Galbee siblings out there.

Overall, this Santos Galbee ref 2319 SIHH limited edition sized in LM is in great condition. The watch comes as a full set and has recently undergone servicing by the Cartier boutique in Tokyo. The original grey dial, luminous handset, as well as the crown guards and blue sapphire cabochon are all in execellent shape. The bracelet has its full links and fits a wrist size up to 19cm or 7.5 inches . The watch comes as a full set with its original Cartier outer box, innter box, booklet case, certificate of guarantee, watch manual, and Cartier Japan service papers from July 2022. The guarantee is dated January 2003 and shows that it was originally bought from a Japanese retailer.

Ships from Japan