Cartier · Santos de Cartier Skeleton and Santos-Dumont
Cartier WHSA0015 vs Cartier WSSA0046
11 published specifications differ between these two, and 1 are identical. 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 with black lacquer, large model, case dimensions 43.5 mm x 31.4 mm |
| Thickness | 9.08 mm | 7.3 mm |
| Water resistance | Water-resistant up to 10 bar (approx. 100 meters/330 feet) | Water-resistant up to 3 bar (approx. 30 meters/100 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 | Black square decoration with translucent lacquer, Roman numerals, steel sword-shaped hands |
| Case back | Sapphire case back | Engraved with the handwritten signature of Alberto Santos-Dumont |
| Crown | Heptagonal crown set with a faceted sapphire | Steel beaded crown set with a blue synthetic spinel cabochon |
| Bracelet | Steel bracelet with SmartLink adjustment system, plus a second bracelet in alligator leather; both fitted with the QuickSwitch interchangeability system | Black alligator leather strap |
| Clasp | Interchangeable steel deployant buckle | Steel ardillon buckle |
| Calibre | Caliber 9611 MC | Caliber 430 MC |
| 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 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.
- Movement
- Manufacture mechanical movement with manual winding
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.
| Diameter | 39.8 mm | 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.
A visible difference in how they wear
1.8 mm of thickness separates these, with the WHSA0015 the taller at 9.1 mm. That is the difference between a watch that goes under a cuff and one that catches on it — worth a photograph from the side rather than a number in a table.
Do not describe these the same way
The WSSA0046 is rated to 30 metres and the WHSA0015 to 100. A rating is a factory figure for a new watch with fresh gaskets, not a promise about a used one — but the gap still matters in writing. Describe the WSSA0046 in words a buyer can act on, and do not let a template carry the WHSA0015's language onto it.
One needs sizing, the other needs stock
The WHSA0015 comes on a bracelet and the WSSA0046 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 WSSA0046 does not. You can read the WHSA0015's movement — and photograph it for the listing — without breaking a seal. Verifying the WSSA0046 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.
WSSA0046
- Inspect the black lacquer at every case edge and corner for wear through to the steel beneath. Lacquer cannot be refinished the way bare steel can, so any breakthrough is permanent and must be disclosed.
- Photograph the engraved case back. Cartier engraves it with the handwritten signature of Alberto Santos-Dumont, and a worn or polished engraving is a real deduction on a reference sold partly on that detail.
- Wind it from stopped and stop at the stop, because the 430 MC is hand-wound with no rotor and no slipping bridle protecting the mainspring.
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 WSSA0046 (Santos-Dumont, large model, steel with black lacquer) - Santos-Dumont watch; Large model; Manufacture mechanical movement with manual winding; Caliber 430 Mc; Steel case with black lacquer; Steel beaded crown set with a blue synthetic spinel cabochon; Black square decoration dial with translucent lacquer; Roman numerals; Steel sword-shaped hands; Sapphire crystal; Case back engraved with the handwritten signature of Alberto Santos-Dumont; Black alligator leather strap; Steel ardillon buckle; Case dimensions: 43.5 mm x 31.4 mm; Thickness: 7.3 mm; Water-resistant up to 3 bar (approx. 30 meters/100 feet). No power reserve 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.