Cartier · Santos de Cartier Skeleton and Santos de Cartier
Cartier WHSA0015 vs Cartier WSSA0018
10 published specifications differ between these two, and 2 are identical. Every figure below is what the manufacturer states for that reference; nothing is inferred from the other watch.
What differs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Thickness | 9.08 mm | 9.38 mm |
| Water resistance | Water-resistant up to 10 bar (approx. 100 meters/330 feet) | Water-resistant up to 10 bar (approx. 100 meters/328 feet) |
| Crystal | Sapphire crystal and case back | Sapphire crystal |
| Dial | Hours and minutes with skeletonized bridges forming Roman numerals, with blued-steel sword-shaped hands | Silvered opaline, with steel sword-shaped hands |
| Crown | Heptagonal crown set with a faceted sapphire | 7-sided crown set with a faceted synthetic spinel |
| Bracelet | Steel bracelet with SmartLink adjustment system, plus a second bracelet in alligator leather; both fitted with the QuickSwitch interchangeability system | Steel bracelet with SmartLink adjustment system, plus a second bracelet in calfskin; both fitted with the QuickSwitch interchangeability system |
| Clasp | Interchangeable steel deployant buckle | Interchangeable steel folding buckle |
| Calibre | Caliber 9611 MC | Caliber 1847 MC |
| Movement | Manufacture mechanical movement with manual winding | Mechanical movement with automatic winding |
| Movement notes | Individually numbered movement consisting of 138 parts including 20 rubies. Movement dimensions 28 mm x 28 mm, movement thickness 3.97 mm. Cartier's page splits the balance figure across two bullets, as 'Balance: 28' followed by '800 vibrations/hour'. | Cartier publishes no power reserve, lug width or lug-to-lug figure for this reference. |
What is identical
Worth knowing as much as the differences: these are the specifications you cannot use to tell the two apart.
- Case
- Steel case, large model, case width 39.8 mm
- Diameter
- 39.8 mm
Stated for one, not the other
These rows cannot be compared, because one maker publishes the figure and the other does not. An empty cell is a gap in the manufacturer's documentation, not a gap in the watch — and not a licence to fill it in from the other column.
| Case back | Sapphire case back | not stated |
|---|---|---|
| Power reserve | Power reserve approx. 72 hours | not stated |
| Frequency | 28,800 vibrations/hour | not stated |
| Jewels | 20 | not stated |
What the differences cost you
Each note below follows from the published figures in the tables above — what they mean for intake, for a listing, and for the handover. Nothing here estimates a price or a margin.
Two different ownership conversations
The WHSA0015 is hand-wound and the WSSA0018 is self-winding. That changes what a buyer needs telling at handover, and it changes intake: a hand-wound watch has no rotor to mask a tired mainspring, and a stopped quartz watch is usually a battery rather than a fault.
One needs sizing, the other needs stock
The WHSA0015 comes on a bracelet and the WSSA0018 on a strap. They are different jobs at resale: a bracelet has to be sized and its removed links kept with the watch, because a buyer who receives it short of links has received an incomplete watch. A strap is a consumable — check whether the one on the wrist is the one that should be in the photographs.
Only one can be checked without opening it
The WHSA0015 has a display back and the WSSA0018 does not. You can read the WHSA0015's movement — and photograph it for the listing — without breaking a seal. Verifying the WSSA0018 to the same standard means opening it, which is a watchmaker's job and a water-resistance question afterwards.
Different movements to verify and to service
The WHSA0015 runs the Caliber 9611 MC and the WSSA0018 the Caliber 1847 MC. Two consequences at intake: the service history that is normal for one calibre is not evidence about the other, and the calibre is the check that catches a movement swapped into the wrong case. Confirm the movement matches the reference rather than assuming it from the dial.
What to check on each
WHSA0015
- Record the movement's individual number. Cartier states the movement is individually numbered, and on a skeleton that number is visible through the case back and is part of what a buyer is acquiring.
- Inspect the skeletonised bridges under a loupe from both sides. On this reference the movement is the dial, so a mark on a bridge is a mark on the face of the watch.
- Wind it from stopped and stop at the stop. This is a hand-wound calibre with no rotor and nothing protecting the mainspring from someone who keeps turning.
WSSA0018
- Establish whether both bracelets are present. Cartier ships this reference with a steel bracelet and a second calfskin one, so a watch arriving with only the steel is an incomplete set.
- Work the QuickSwitch release on both bracelets and refit each once. It is the mechanism that makes the second bracelet usable, and a seized release turns a two-bracelet watch into a one-bracelet watch.
- Run the SmartLink sizing through a link removal and refit. It is toolless by design, the pushers are small, and a bent one is the commonest damage on this bracelet.
Sources
- Cartier official product page for reference WHSA0015 (Santos de Cartier Skeleton, large model, steel) - Santos Skeleton watch; Large model; Manufacture mechanical movement with manual winding; Caliber 9611 Mc; Steel case; Heptagonal crown set with a faceted sapphire; Blued-steel sword-shaped hands; Sapphire crystal and case back; Steel bracelet with SmartLink adjustment system; Second bracelet in alligator leather; With steel interchangeable deployant buckle; Both bracelets are equipped with the QuickSwitch interchangeability system; Hours and minutes with skeletonized bridges forming Roman numerals; Individually numbered movement consisting of 138 parts including 20 rubies; Movement dimensions: 28 mm x 28 mm; Movement thickness: 3.97 mm; Balance: 28 [the page splits this bullet, with '800 vibrations/hour' following as a separate list item, so the figure reads as 28,800 vibrations/hour]; Power reserve approx. 72 hours; Case width: 39.8 mm; Thickness: 9.08 mm; Water-resistant up to 10 bar (approx. 100 meters/330 feet) — retrieved 2026-09-23
- Cartier official product page for reference WSSA0018 (Santos de Cartier, large model, steel) - Santos watch; Large model; Mechanical movement with automatic winding; Caliber 1847 Mc; Steel case; 7-sided crown set with a faceted synthetic spinel; Silvered opaline dial; Steel sword-shaped hands; Sapphire crystal; Steel bracelet with SmartLink adjustment system; Second bracelet in calfskin; With interchangeable steel folding buckle; Both bracelets are fitted with the QuickSwitch interchangeability system; Case width: 39.8 mm; Thickness: 9.38 mm; Water-resistant up to 10 bar (approx. 100 meters/328 feet). No power reserve, lug width or lug-to-lug figure is published on this page — retrieved 2026-09-23
Not affiliated with Cartier. Specifications are read from each manufacturer's own published documentation on the dates shown and may change; the manufacturer's current documentation governs.