In Replica Watch of the Week, we invite Hodinkee staffers and friends to explain why they love a certain watch. This week’s columnist is Merritt Palmer, an Atlanta-based Luxury Authenticator at Hodinkee, who is telling us about her Cartier Santos Galbée.
I never really thought about super clone watches growing up. After all, I’m a member of Gen Z – I’ve had a cell phone in my pocket since I was 12, and none of my family members are particularly horologically inclined. It wasn’t until I was studying art history in college that I even discovered the existence of the niche world that is watch collecting.
After spending countless hours surfing art auction house websites, researching careers and past sales results, I eventually stumbled across the watch departments. My first reaction was one of confusion – how could these little objects – some of which looked like they had literally been fished out of the bottom of the ocean – possibly be so expensive? My curiosity was piqued. I began to research the various brands and models whose names I saw repeated, trying to understand what made a certain example worth more than another.
Merritt Palmer
Before I got into top fake watches, I was mostly interested in antiques, modern furniture design, decorative arts, and fashion. While I love art in its traditional form, paintings and sculptures that are displayed and contemplated, I have a special attachment to beautiful items that are also functional. This appreciation of objects that are both aesthetically pleasing and utilitarian helped shape my approach to watches, and I came to view them as expressions of creativity, as artworks that one could wear and live with.
I began talking my mother’s ear off about my newfound area of interest, and she ended up giving me a small yellow-gold ladies’ watch of hers. I liked the old-fashioned nature of glancing down at my wrist instead of pulling out my phone. It felt like a very adult accessory to have, and as someone who was about to leave the safety net of university life and enter the big, intimidating world of adulthood, it felt strangely comforting. Still, I wanted a watch of my own, one that I had picked out that really reflected my taste.
After graduating, I joined Hodinkee as an authenticator in the Atlanta office and suddenly found myself able to try on pretty much any watch I could possibly want. I was like a kid in a candy store. What I quickly found out was that the features I admired on cheap copy watches in Instagram posts and YouTube videos didn’t necessarily translate into real life.
Cartier Santos
I found myself gravitating toward smaller case sizes and preferring Swiss replica watches with bracelets over straps. A definite checklist of what it was that I was looking for in a watch began to form in my head: I wanted something steel to match the silver jewelry I wore, something in a 36mm case size or less, something chic, something different. Without consciously realizing it, I began focusing my hunt on Cartier.
I had been toying with the idea of buying a Tank, maybe a teeny quartz ladies’ Tank Française, when a Santos Galbée came across my desk one day last March. I was immediately smitten by its sleek all-steel look. I couldn’t believe there was an automatic movement in the small case, but it was the guilloché-texture dial that I was most obsessed with. I had never wanted a single object this badly before. I had also never spent this much money in my life.
A frantic, giddy phone call with my mom gave me the extra boost of confidence I needed to just go for it. The logical part of me couldn’t believe I was making such a big purchase so impulsively, but it felt right. And it was the right decision – my Santos is perfect for me.
Cartier Santos
This watch’s timelessness and versatility are unmatched, and it’s become my steadfast companion. Somehow it just represents me perfectly. It’s the one object that expresses the way I want to present myself to the world. It’s elegant and edgy, classic and just plain cool, and it looks just as good with jeans and a t-shirt as it does dangling from my wrist when I get all dolled up.
A lot of watch lovers are always looking for the next thing to add to their roster, and they love the hunt just as much as they love the Swiss made fake watches they already have. Personally, I don’t feel the need to chase down a dress watch or a sport fake watches or a casual, everyday watch because I already have all those things rolled into one. There’s nothing wrong with that – I just don’t feel the same urge.
It’s funny, but at this point in my life, I don’t even really consider myself a “watch collector,” per se. I’m satisfied with the one watch I wear every single day; it scratches every itch I could really have. I’m sure at some point in the future I’ll find something else that speaks to me that I just have to have, but it would need to be better than my prized Cartier for me to buy it.
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