Why Cartier Santos Got My Attention
I woke up last Tuesday itching for a fancy watch upgrade after rocking the same Seiko for eight years straight. Kept seeing Cartier Santos pics on Instagram – like everyone suddenly had one. Thought “man even my dentist wears this thing”. So I grabbed coffee and Googled “luxury watches under 10k”. Santos popped up everywhere like cockroaches when you turn the lights on.
Messy Online Research Phase
Dove into YouTube reviews first. Big mistake. Every video said something different:
- Dude with diamond pinky ring screamed “BUY THE LARGE SIZE OR YOU’RE WEAK”
- Some Swedish girl whispered the medium fits better
- Watch nerd zoomed in on screws for 15 minutes straight
Felt my brain melting by lunchtime. Closed all tabs and decided to just haul ass to the boutique.
Playing Dress-Up at the Cartier Store
Walked into their shiny New York store sweating like I owed them money. Sales lady gave that fake smile rich people get. I straight up told her: “I need to touch these things for real”. She plopped three Santos models on the glass:
- Basic stainless steel one looking clean
- Two-tone version screaming “look I got gold”
- Alligator strap model pretending to be classy
Tried them all while staring at myself in their fancy mirror. Felt like playing pretend CEO. The stainless steel hugged my wrist just right – didn’t feel like wearing dad’s watch.
The Size War in My Head
Here’s where things got stupid. The medium looked perfect first. But then I remembered YouTube guy shouting about large watches. Made the poor sales lady bring both sizes again. Put large on left wrist, medium on right. Stood there doing hand waves like an orchestra conductor for five minutes. Finally realized large made my forearm look weirdly skinny. Went medium like the Swedish girl said.
Wallet Scream Test
Almost pulled the trigger until she said “would you like it engraved?” Shit got real. Suddenly pictured my bank account crying. Excused myself to “check messages” near the potted plants. Called my wife whispering “babe they want seven grand for this thing”. She just sighed loud enough the sales lady probably heard. Told the lady “gotta sleep on it” and ran out pretending to get an emergency call.
The Aftermath
Dreamt about watch screws that night. Woke up knowing the stainless steel medium was mine. Went back next morning trying to act cool like “yes I’ll take it”. Still flinched when the card machine beeped. Now I’m typing this with my Santos glowing under laptop light. Looks damn good. Only regret? Should’ve ignored that diamond pinky guy sooner.
