Cartier ships the WHSA0010 on grey. That is worth noticing, because on a skeleton watch the strap is not underneath the dial — it is in it.
This is the Santos Skeleton in solid 18K pink gold: a 39.8 mm case, the heptagonal gold crown set with a faceted sapphire, gold-finish sword hands, and the hand-wound calibre 9619 MC with its skeletonised bridges forming the Roman numerals — 138 parts, 72 hours, visible from both sides through a sapphire case back. It is water-resistant to 100 metres, and it comes with two straps and no bracelet.
The gold matters more than it sounds. On the steel Santos Skeleton the bridges are bright metal, so a dark strap makes them stand out. On the blackened version the bridges disappear into a black strap. Here the bridges are gold — a warm mid-tone — and gold behaves differently again.
Lug Width: the WHSA0010 takes a 21 mm strap
On the product page, select the 21 mm option.
The WHSA0010 is the large model at 39.8 mm, and the large Santos takes a 21 mm strap. The medium, at 35.1 mm, takes 19 mm. That is the only sizing decision here, and it is the most common Santos ordering mistake.
| Santos model | Case | Strap |
|---|---|---|
| Large (WHSA0010) | 39.8 mm | 21 mm |
| Medium | 35.1 mm | 19 mm |
QuickSwitch, and why it matters on this one
Both factory straps use Cartier's QuickSwitch system: press underneath the strap end and it releases. No tool, ten seconds, and nothing sharp anywhere near a solid gold case — which is the version of this argument that actually matters on a watch this soft.
Our Santos straps carry the same fitting. A generic 21 mm strap has nothing to attach to here; the fitting is the product.
One thing to keep safe: the double folding buckle is solid 18K pink gold. Store it with the factory straps rather than loose.
Gold bridges behave differently to steel or black ones
This is the decision the WHSA0010 asks you to make, and it has two correct answers.
Warm straps let the movement blend. Brown and tan sit in the same tonal family as pink gold, so the bridges stop reading as separate metal parts and merge into a single warm object. The watch looks richer, softer and more like jewellery. Nothing announces itself as mechanical.
Cool and dark straps make it separate. Against black, grey or blue, gold has something to push against — the bridges snap into focus, the Roman numerals read as clean shapes, and the skeletonisation looks like architecture rather than decoration.
Cartier's own choice, the grey alligator in the box, is firmly in the second camp. If you want the other reading, the box does not contain it.
The four best straps for the WHSA0010
1. Brown leather — the reading the box does not give you
Brown Leather Strap for Cartier Santos
Pink gold is the warmest metal Cartier uses, and brown is the only strap tone that meets it on its own terms. Filling the openwork with a warm mid-tone lets the gold bridges settle into the watch rather than standing out from it, and the whole piece reads as one continuous object — expensive, quiet, and much less technical than the factory grey makes it look.
It is also the tone the box does not contain, which makes it the obvious first addition rather than a duplicate of what you already own.
2. Black leather — the architectural version
Black Leather Strap for Cartier Santos
Maximum separation. Black behind gold bridges is the highest contrast available, so every bridge edge, every Roman numeral and every screw on the bezel reads sharply. This is the most formal way to wear the reference and the one that makes the movement the point rather than the metal.
If you bought the watch because of what is inside it, wear it on this.
3. Blue leather — cool, without going all the way to black
Blue Leather Strap for Cartier Santos
The crown is set with a faceted sapphire, so blue is genuinely on the watch already. A blue strap gives the gold something cool to push against — the same separation black provides — while adding the only colour the design offers. On an open dial the blue also shows through the movement, so it changes the watch far more than the same strap would on a solid dial.
The most contemporary of the four, and the one that looks least like everything else at this price.
4. Black rubber — the one that uses the 100 metres
Black Rubber Strap for Cartier Santos
A solid gold openworked watch rated to 100 metres is an unusual thing, and both factory straps are leather — so the case is capable of far more than it is currently allowed to do. Rubber fixes that, keeps two expensive alligator and calfskin straps out of the summer, and puts a gold skeleton into the gold-sports-watch register that other brands charge a great deal to reach.
Our rubber straps carry a lifetime warranty, so it is a one-time purchase.
See every colour and material in the Cartier Santos QuickSwitch strap collection.
Fit, in one line
Order 21 mm with the QuickSwitch fitting, and click it in — no tools near the gold.
More Cartier strap guides
- Cartier Santos de Cartier WSSA0018 Strap Guide — the large steel Santos, same 21 mm fit
- Cartier Santos de Cartier W2SA0016 Strap Guide
- All Cartier strap guides
No bracelet means the straps are the watch
Cartier supplied this reference with two straps and no metal bracelet. They are the only wearing parts it has, and the only components that will ever need replacing — and on a solid gold case, worn leather is the one thing that can make the whole watch look neglected.
Our Santos straps carry the QuickSwitch fitting in 19 mm and 21 mm, so they lock into the case the way the originals do.
More than 50,000 customers worldwide, free shipping and free returns, and no import costs on any order, anywhere. Rubber straps carry a lifetime warranty; leather is covered for one year.
