Cartier · Santos de Cartier Skeleton and Santos de Cartier
Cartier WHSA0015 vs Cartier WSSA0029
12 published specifications differ between these two. Every figure below is what the manufacturer states for that reference; nothing is inferred from the other watch.
What differs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Steel case, large model, case width 39.8 mm | Steel case, medium model, case width 35.1 mm |
| Diameter | 39.8 mm | 35.1 mm |
| Thickness | 9.08 mm | 8.83 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 | Manufacture 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. |
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.
These reach different buyers
39.8 mm on the WHSA0015 against 35.1 mm on the WSSA0029. Diameter is a poor predictor of how a watch actually sits, but it is the field buyers filter on, so the two land in front of different people. Do not let one listing's photographs or copy stand in for the other.
Two different ownership conversations
The WHSA0015 is hand-wound and the WSSA0029 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 WSSA0029 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 WSSA0029 does not. You can read the WHSA0015's movement — and photograph it for the listing — without breaking a seal. Verifying the WSSA0029 to the same standard means opening it, which is a watchmaker's job and a water-resistance question afterwards.
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.
WSSA0029
- Confirm the case width against the published 35.1 mm before describing the size. The medium and large Santos look identical in a photograph and are 4.7 mm apart.
- Check any spare bracelet actually belongs to this case. The QuickSwitch fitting is sized to the model, so a large-model bracelet will not sit correctly on a medium case.
- Establish that both the steel and calfskin bracelets are present, since Cartier lists both as part of this reference.
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 WSSA0029 (Santos de Cartier, medium model, steel) - Santos watch; Medium model; Manufacture 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: 35.1 mm; Thickness: 8.83 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.