The Cartier Santos is incredibly popular worldwide.
It was the first Cartier watch to be sold to the public using stainless steel, and its highly fashionable design and excellent practicality made it a huge hit.
Today, it is considered one of the watches that has dominated the vintage market.
The Santos has been extremely popular at our store since its opening,
and we are grateful that so many customers enjoy wearing it.
Selling a large number of these watches means not only regular maintenance but also a fair number of repairs,
with "bracelet repair" being a particularly common request.
Bracelet-type watches are replaced far less frequently than leather straps.
However, not just for us, but for manufacturers, bracelets are considered "consumable parts."
This means that while a leather strap is replaced when it gets damaged,
a bracelet may also need to be replaced if necessary.
Many current manufacturer repairs do not perform partial repairs on bracelets; instead, they replace the entire bracelet, and it's an undeniable fact that this comes at a considerable cost.
Therefore, when a bracelet replacement is recommended during a manufacturer's repair,
the cost is such that one cannot casually decide to replace it.
On the other hand, we do not recommend bracelet replacement unless absolutely necessary;
instead, in the event of damage, we perform repair work tailored to the shape of the bracelet.
The Santos shown above has an early-model bracelet, and its structure is somewhat unique and rarely seen today.
Just like watches, bracelets have evolved over time,
and it is less common for current model bracelets to break.
However, vintage watches are from an era before current models existed,
so it cannot be denied that they are more delicate and fragile compared to current models.
Watches have been improved based on all kinds of information, leading to modern designs.
It may be uncouth to compare current models with vintage watches,
but as a professional shop specializing in vintage watches,
I personally feel it's not right to simply throw up our hands and say we can't perform any repairs.
For the early-model Santos bracelets, we provide appropriate solutions for issues like metal corrosion,
but for damage caused by wear and tear over time or breakage due to force,
repairs can be performed relatively easily.
The early-model bracelet has a C-shaped structure when viewed from the side,
which, to put it simply, forms the bracelet structure by clamping.
If force is applied, the clamped part will widen and detach,
so it needs to be tightened again during repair.
Additionally, since there is a pin running through the center of the bracelet,
the pin is also reset when tightening.
However, even after performing repair work, it is undeniable that the same repair may be needed again due to aging, or other parts may break.
We hope you can consider this as maintaining the bracelet's shape through ongoing repairs.
Incidentally, Santos models have bracelets with different structures than this type, and those require different repair procedures.
For now, we have received many requests for repairs like this in the past,
and we have always handled them thoroughly.
We strive to take responsibility for repairing watches sold by us,
so please feel free to contact us anytime if you have any concerns.
Please note that for carry-in repairs, we cannot accept bracelet-only repairs due to the warranty on the movement.
