Cartier Santos Galbee vs. Modern Med

I love both With whichever of the two watches you decide on you will do very well

I owned a Santos Galbee for 20 years. Sold it, regretted it, ended up buying a mid size Santos 100. For me, the Galbee is the Santos. It's the most elegant, classiest of the Santos range. The watch has less appeal to me the bigger it gets. Size isn't everything.

This is exactly how I feel. For me, “the Santos is the Galbee,” but I really like the idea of not having to worry about any issues since the modern will be fully under warranty. The strap system and new bracelet is a huge bonus too.

The strap changing is the one big improvement the new watch has over the Galbee, totally agree on this point. In 20 years of ownership I had the watch serviced 3 times. It's not cheap I grant you but in all honesty there wasn't a penny of it I regretted when I received the watch back from Cartier. The watch comes back in the same condition as the first time you took it out the box brand new.

Thanks for your help tiffer! I snuck a look at your profile I believe we may have similar taste in watches. Really appreciate your input.

I love the Galbee. Has to be the XL to get the automatic. The one thing to keep an eye is polishing. Unless it is NIB a Galbee will have scratches. A polished Santos, unless done by Cartier, is usually not a good choice, as the bezel tends to round up more and the screws look bad.

I love the Galbee dial, similar to the Ballon Bleu and it catches the light in a unique way 👌

I went with the modern Santos. The easy strap/ bracelet replacement and sizing made the purchase worth it. I do prefer the dial on the Galbee though.

This is exactly my dilemma. I prefer the dial and bezel of the Galbee over the modern. But the water resistance, strap and bracelet makes the modern superior.

You can’t go wrong with either of them in my opinion.

I love the guilloche dial on the Galbee but wish Cartier had eliminated the date window on them.

I like the bezel implementation on the Galbee. I prefer it be self contained rather than a design element that leads into the bracelet.

You could bite the big one before needing a major service. If you like the design, thinness, date, but fear the eventual out of pocket cost down the road, you could compromise and get the Santos. You might learn to love it.

Personally, I’d get the Galbee and put aside $20 for the inevitable service. If it’s the better watch, it’s the one I’d want to spend time with. I’d do what I could to soften the blow for future me and hopefully the handful of $20’s would help him understand.

Let us know what you decide. It’s an issue I have but haven’t crossed that road yet, since the Cartier is down the road for me in my opportunity to buy.

My problem exactly. Cartier could at least come up with a Medium Date, if not re-issue the Galbee altogether.

In my opinion, the Galbee (and Carree) absolutely roll every subsequent Santos. I know it’s quartz, but the blue numerals Galbee is peak to me

As an owner of the new Santos, I can vouch for how incredible it is. I bought it because it’s the modern Santos. If I was old enough, I would have probably bought a Galbee when that was the modern version.

What I’m saying is, there’s no wrong choices here. Just depends on your preference.

I don't have the Santos. I only have a Tank. But if I am to get one, I would go for the modern version. For me, the dial looks more balance without the date.