Santos de Cartier skeleton watch Ref. WHSA0027

The Santos de Cartier Skeleton in steel is the most wearable version of one of Cartier's boldest ideas: take the brand's oldest wristwatch and remove almost all of the dial. What remains is the movement itself, with its bridges shaped into the Santos' Roman numerals, so the structure that holds the watch together is also what tells you the time. Only the minute track and the Cartier signature float around the outside.

Behind it is the Manufacture calibre 9611 MC, hand-wound rather than automatic, which is a deliberate choice: without a winding rotor in the way, the openwork stays visible from both sides, through the sapphire crystal and the sapphire caseback. It holds around 72 hours of power reserve, so it survives a weekend off the wrist.

The Santos was created in 1904 for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, and the squared case with its exposed screws has been recognisable ever since. In steel with the integrated bracelet, the skeleton version reads as industrial and modern rather than formal, and Cartier's SmartLink system allows the bracelet to be resized by hand without tools. At Konesseur, every Cartier is authenticated and inspected in Dubai before listing, and the UAE's 5% VAT is a meaningful advantage at this level. See more Cartier watches or the full watches range to compare.

• Reference and model: Cartier Santos de Cartier Skeleton, Ref. WHSA0027, stainless steel case and integrated bracelet 
• Movement: Manufacture calibre 9611 MC, manual winding, ~72h power reserve, skeletonised bridges forming Roman numerals, sapphire crystal and caseback
• Build: steel bracelet with SmartLink resizing and QuickSwitch interchangeability (
• Condition and authenticity: authenticated by Konesseur (confirm condition, box and papers against the listing)