How is the Cartier Santos a "Sports"watch?

Dandy here! Hmm my guess is he just slapped a regular production watch with Roman numerals on a bracelet, made it a tiny bit bigger and said “use this on your flight” 

history, heritage, santos…$8k please 😎

I get the history part, but because a watch used to be a sports watch doesn't mean its one today.....

I used to be an athlete, that doesn't mean I am one now, lol and if I wear a watch doing sports, that doesn't make it a sports watch. 

if an "influencer" calls it sports watch, I remember what my mom (everyone's mom) used to say: "if someone tells you jump off a bridge...." 

okay, rant over

on the positive side, would I wear one, absolutely I would, it's drop dead gorgeous.

It's still not a sports watch 

What's the definition of a sport watch and who came up with it?  Is the JLC Reverso a sport watch?  Is the Royal Oak?

BTW, I love that Cartier Santos, what model is it?

Max, how dare you?!

You cannot question this watch classification. Do you know what that means?! If we question why the Cartier Santos is a ”sports” watch we have to evaluate almost all watches… like @aztecknight wrote, what about the Royal Oak or the Nautilus?

Is the Rolex Explorer I also no sports watch because it has a polished bezel? Why makes a brushed bezel a sports watch more sporty? AND, what makes a Submariner a sports watch?! Nobody is wearing it for sports XD

But now serious; you are right nowadays its different. I would say sports watches are Apple Watches or weird Android monsters. I think the term sports watch is in generell wrong  (and always was). This watches, Reverso, Santos, Explorer, Seamaster, Navitimer, Ingenieur etc. were once professional watches. They were mostly built for professionals, pilots are no olympic athletes ;). Now they all lost their purpose. But many of the old world models where once built as them. So we classify them still today. The Royal Oak and Nautilus are a something different, they were made for British tea time.^^

so let’s call the Cartier Santos a watch that was once built for a professional reason, plus it was the first ;)
 

I need a Santos.

Sports watch seems like a outdated term as is. What I found to be the case is that a sports watch is more often a watch that is versatile and easy to wear casually rather than a watch intended for sports.

It's like athletic clothing really. Yeah you could play football with a Cartier on your wrist. But you can also wear the football top around town, and you won't look out of place.

Also part of the dainty dandy club here 🤣 

Agreed that the definition of sports is pretty amorphous. I just can't imagine a pilot glancing down and seeing a sea of Roman numerals 🤷‍♂️

The Santos is a dress dial in a sports case at best for me.

The one pictured on the right is the Santos Dumont, it doesn't even try to be sporty, isn't that more authentic to Cartier as a brand?

Dandy here, of course. I do not why someone even try call Cartier Santos or Santos Dumont sports watch ... For me it is clearly a dress watch and WHAT A DRESS WATCH !!! Agree with Max about Roman numerals - someone in a racing car, someone in a gym, someone playing tennis, someone swimming ????🙄

Perhaps back in the day, it was in reference to the “genteel sports“ for those who could afford wristwatches in the early 1900s.  I don’t know, polo, fox hunting, croquet or whatever else rich people did for fun at the time. 😎

I bought the Santos Medium about two weeks ago and don't care how anyone classifies it - it's a great watch and looks good no matter what you wear!

I like that the Santos somehow pulls off dressy and sporty at the same time.  Most of the watches in my collection are pure sport watches, but this can easily pull double duty.

I think when you look at the Santos and the Santos Dumont side by side you can see the difference but you just can't quite put your finger on it. The dimensions are probably the biggest contributing factor but enlarging a dress watch does not a "Sports" watch designation make. The Roman numerals at the Santos size turn sporty and start walking the line like stick indices on a Datejust or the markers on an Aqua Terra. The bezel has that Royal Oak sportiness, arguably this model pre-dating that one. Stylistically, the Santos has more rugged definition, whereas the Santos Dumont reels that back with finesse. 

Personally, Santos Dumont all the way. 

Don't really care...Santos is on my list. 

Love mine! I wear it for mostly dress occasions but I think it can be worn casually as well.   

Dimensions play a big part! The Dumont is only 7mm thick 😲

Cartier Santos: A Brief History — Rescapement.

The article linked above give's a good brief history of the Santos and describes it link with Alberto Santos-Dumont and early Brazilian aviator and friend of Louis Cartier at the start of the 20th century. 

I think were concentrating too much on how we use the word sport today to describe some kind of physically exerting activity. The word 'sport' has its etymological roots in a French word relating to leisure. If we stop thinking of sport as we do today and start thinking that these watches are more designed for leisure activities and pursuits we will have a better understanding of their design language and place in the watch world. 

Or don't worry about what they're called and enjoy them 😜 

Thanks for the homework James!  Reading now 😁👌

My best guess on this is Cartier is trying to position the Santos as its "GADA" watch, while the Tank is position as its dress watch. In calling the Santos a 'sports watch', Cartier ensures it can target a market who might go for Nautiluses, Royal Oaks and Explorer 1s/OPs/DJs. 

Maybe "sporty" works better than "sports watch"? It's not really about wearing it while participating in sports but more about a style of watch that you don't have to be too precious with given its full steel construction and 100-meter water resistance. At least, that's how I look at it 😀

Great way to put it, it's more a lifestyle. As in "it's feeling like a sporty weekend" 😉

Nailed it!

I agree that that Cartier Santos is no more a sports watch than a Patek Calatrava.  However, when you compare the Santos with the Santos Dumont you end up with a sports watch and a dress watch.  To me, the cabochon is what really separates the two - the Dumont being the more classy, diminutive like the Tank; the Santos being more rugged and industrial.  Also, the bracelet with the screws on the Santos just radiate "sports".  Neither watch to me makes me think of the typical sports watch, but I must admit I would get a Santos in a heartbeat if my budget could afford it right now.

The Santos De Cartier has a much more robust movement, is made out of stainless steel, has a bracelet, is more water resistant than the calatrava. Its much more of a sports watch than a calatrava. I own a santos, and have handled many calatrava - the calatrava is much more fragile and elegant than the cartier. 

I've never really liked the designation "sports watch". I tend to think of watches as either "dressy" or "sporty"/"casual", with most falling somewhere in between. Most Cartier watches lean heavily toward the dressy side, with the Santos De Cartier being a bit more versatile, and blurring the distinction a bit. As @roberto mentioned, the WSSA0037 with the black dial and ADLC bezel has a much more sporty or casual feel than most other Cartiers, especially when paired with the rubber strap.

I agree that Roman numerals tend to find themselves more on watches that are on the dressy side, but I don't see how they would get in the way of a pilot glancing down at their watch - the position of the hands is all that's needed to tell time.