Sell your Santos · South Florida · by appointment
Sell your Santos to someone who knows which Santos it is.
Galbée, Santos 100, Dumont, or the 2018 Santos de Cartier: four generations, valued on different grounds. Send photos and I reply within 1 business day with an offer and the reasons for it.
- Galbée, Santos 100, Dumont, and Santos de Cartier placed from the case back
- Quartz and automatic Santos both bought, each on its own comparables
- The spare strap, the extra links, and the pouch counted in the offer
Who this page is for
Four Santos generations, one name, four ways to read the offer.
This page is for the owner of a Santos who wants to know which one they have in a dealer's eyes, and what the generation, size, movement, and strap set do to the number. A quartz Galbée, an automatic Santos 100, a thin Dumont, and a 2018 Santos de Cartier all read as a Santos in a photo. They are not priced against each other.
Most Santos watches I see were worn daily for years, or came as a gift with the box but no paperwork.
Mechanical versus quartz in general, hallmarks, buckles, and papers are covered on the Cartier page. Here I cover only what is specific to the Santos: the four generations, the screws, the strap system, and what must be in your photos.
Selling a Santos to a private dealer
What a Santos buyer does differently.
Generation before condition
I place the watch first: Galbée, Santos 100, Dumont, or Santos de Cartier. Then I judge wear against what that generation should look like.
Screws read before the number
The exposed screws on the bezel and bracelet are the Santos signature. Chewed slots, mismatched heads, or a screw that sits proud tell me what has been done to the watch.
The strap set is part of the watch
On a 2018 Santos de Cartier the second strap, the SmartLink bracelet, and the extra links are counted in. On a Galbée, the full bracelet with its removed links is.
Two-tone and gold weighed twice
A two-tone or full gold Santos has a metal floor under the offer. I weigh the gold, price the collector value on top, and offer on the stronger of the two.
What I check on a Santos
Five things that move a Santos offer.
The Santos-specific variables. Hallmarks and papers in general are on the Cartier page.
Galbée, 100, Dumont, or de Cartier
The case shape and the reference on the case back tell me the generation in one look. Each has its own buyers and comparables.
Quartz or automatic
Galbée and Dumont came both ways. The Santos 100 and the large Santos de Cartier are automatic. Quartz is priced on its own comparables.
QuickSwitch and SmartLink
The 2018 watch left Cartier with a bracelet and a strap, and the links adjust without tools. Both, all the links, and the pouch read as a complete set.
Bezel screws and corners
Original screws with clean slots, and bezel corners not rounded by polishing, keep a Santos in the stronger position.
ADLC, skeleton, and chronograph
Black ADLC cases, the skeleton, and the chronograph are separate markets inside the Santos de Cartier line. A scratch through ADLC cannot be polished out.
How it works
Four steps, Santos photos in the first.
01
Get an offer
Submit the appraisal form with photos of the dial, the bezel from directly above so all eight screws are readable, the case back with its reference and serial, the clasp or buckle, every strap and link that came with the watch, and the certificate if you have it. I reply personally within 1 business day.
02
Ship or meet
Take the prepaid, fully insured FedEx label, anywhere in the USA, or book an appointment in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach. A gold Dumont or an early Galbée is best seen in person.
03
Inspect and confirm
I open the box on camera and check the screws, bezel corners, movement, strap system, serial, and papers against the generation. If it matches the photos, the offer stands.
04
Get paid
Wire or check within 24 hours of inspection. If we do not agree, the watch goes back to you, insured, at my cost.
The two Santos most owners have
Santos Galbée against the 2018 Santos de Cartier.
Most of the Santos watches I am sent are one of these two. They share the screws and the square, and little else that matters to the offer.
| Criteria | Santos Galbée (late 1980s through the 2010s) | Santos de Cartier (2018 onward) |
|---|---|---|
| Case | Compact, curved case in steel or two-tone; small, medium, large, later XL | Flatter, wider case in medium and large; steel, two-tone, gold, or black ADLC |
| Movement | Quartz in most sizes, automatic in the larger cases | Automatic calibre 1847 MC in medium and large; a smaller quartz size exists |
| Bracelet and strap | Fixed bracelet with screwed links; sizing needs a screwdriver and the removed links | SmartLink bracelet sized by hand, QuickSwitch release, a second strap in the box |
| What moves the offer up | Original screws, a full bracelet with spare links, the red box, an unpolished case | The complete set: bracelet, second strap, all links, pouch, and certificate card |
| What moves it down | Rounded bezel corners, replaced screws, a shortened or stretched bracelet | A missing second strap, missing links, a scratch through ADLC, a chipped crystal |
Directions, not figures. Santos 100 and Dumont owners: your watch has its own section below.
The detail
What moves a Santos offer, generation by generation.
Which Santos do you have
Start with the case back. A steel Santos de Cartier reference usually begins WSSA, a two-tone one W2SA, a gold one WGSA. Many Santos 100 references begin W20. Galbée references are short numeric codes with no letters. If you cannot read it, the shape works: the Galbée is compact and curved, the Santos 100 much larger and flat, the Dumont thin with no bracelet screws, and the 2018 watch has links that open with a push on the underside.
The Galbée: the Santos most people own
Cartier introduced the curved Santos Galbée in the late 1980s and built it through the 2010s, in steel and two-tone, in several sizes, quartz in most and automatic in the larger cases. It is the Santos I see most, and it has two weak points: the bezel corners and the screws. A polished Galbée loses the sharp edges that define the shape, and the wrong screwdriver chews the slots. Keep the removed bracelet links; they are screwed, not pinned, and hard to find.
Santos 100: the big one
The Santos 100 arrived in 2004 for the centenary of the first Santos. It is a much larger watch, automatic, with a chronograph and an XL, in steel, two-tone, gold, and later black ADLC. Its buyers want exactly that size, so I price it on its own comparables, not against the Galbée or the 2018 watch. The deployant buckle on strap versions is a Cartier part with value of its own. Send it even if the strap is finished.
Santos Dumont: thin, often gold, quartz or hand-wound
The Santos Dumont is the thin, dressy Santos on a strap. Vintage examples from the 1970s and 1980s are usually gold, and there was a hand-wound edition around 2004. Cartier relaunched the line in 2019, first in quartz and then hand-wound, in steel, two-tone, and gold. On a gold Dumont the metal gives the offer a floor and the collector value sits on top. On a steel quartz Dumont the offer follows the current line closely. The dial does not show the movement, so I need the case back.
Santos de Cartier 2018: QuickSwitch, SmartLink, and the second strap
In 2018 Cartier rebuilt the Santos as the Santos de Cartier, in medium and large on the automatic calibre 1847 MC, in steel, two-tone, yellow and rose gold, black ADLC, and a skeleton version. When you sell, the strap system matters most. QuickSwitch releases the bracelet or strap with a press near the lug, and SmartLink removes links by hand. The watch left Cartier with a bracelet and a second strap. A set with both, all its links, and the card is what the next buyer expects, so a missing strap or missing links are priced as a replacement.
Screws, bezel corners, and polishing
Every Santos except the Dumont wears its screws in the open. Original screws have clean, even slots and sit flush. A screw that stands proud, a torn slot, or a head brighter than its neighbours tells me the watch has been apart. Polishing rounds the crisp corners that define the square, and no one can put them back. Please do not polish before you send it.
Two-tone and gold: the metal floor
A two-tone Santos carries gold in the bezel, crown, and bracelet links; a full gold Santos carries far more. On a worn two-tone Galbée the metal can carry much of the weight. On a gold Santos de Cartier or a vintage gold Dumont the collector value usually leads. A two-tone Santos is priced as its own variant, against two-tone sales.
When selling to me is not the right call
If you have a full-set Santos de Cartier and simply want a different watch, a trade may do more for you than a sale. If you expect a retail figure for a quartz Galbée, a dealer offer will disappoint you. If you want the watch sold this week, insured, inspected by one person, and paid within 24 hours of that inspection, this is the right page.
How to prepare your Santos submission
- The bezel from directly above, in daylight, close enough to read all eight screw slots, then the corners from an angle.
- The dial straight on, and the case back with the reference and serial legible.
- The clasp open, and the underside of a link so I can see screws or SmartLink buttons.
- Every strap, link, tool, and pouch that came with the watch, laid out beside it.
- The Cartier certificate card or papers, if you have them, with the serial visible.
Questions, answered
Before you send a Santos
Is my Santos a Galbée or a Santos de Cartier?
A Galbée has visible screws on every bracelet link, a compact curved case, and a short numeric reference. A 2018 Santos de Cartier has a flatter, wider case, a bracelet that opens by hand, and a reference starting WSSA, W2SA, or WGSA.
Do you buy quartz Santos watches?
Yes. A quartz Galbée or Dumont is priced on its own comparables, not as a discount on the automatic. Size, metal, and condition set the number within that.
I lost the second strap. Does that matter?
On a Santos de Cartier it moves the offer down a little, because the next buyer expects the set. It does not stop the sale. Send the bracelet, every link, and the pouch if you still have them.
Is a two-tone Santos worth more than steel?
Usually, because the gold in the bezel and links sets a floor under the offer. How much more depends on the generation and condition, and I show the split in the reply.
Should I polish the bezel screws before sending?
No. Polishing rounds the corners that define the Santos and brightens screw heads that should match their neighbours. I price honest wear more kindly than a fresh polish.
Sell your Santos
A real number on your Santos, in 1 business day.
Send the bezel, case back, clasp, and strap-set photos listed above. I reply personally with an offer and the reasons behind it. Insured shipping is on me. Payout within 24 hours of inspection.