Okay so I finally got my hands on that damn green Cartier Santos dial I’ve been hunting for like three months straight. Saw some dude on insta with a Santos modded with forest green dial and leather strap combo – looked absolutely fire. Immediately knew I had to do the same to my boring silver-dial Santos. Ordered the green dial from a supplier in Singapore and spent extra bucks for DHL shipping cause I hate waiting.
The Teardown Mess
Took out my old watch tools kit and popped open the caseback easy enough. Real headache started when I had to remove the hands. My cheap hand puller slipped and scratched the damn date wheel! Nearly threw the tweezers across the room. Had to calm down and order replacement date wheel right there. Took me whole damn afternoon just to get the old dial off without bending pins.
Dial Installation Drama
When the green dial arrived, realized the feet didn’t match Santos movement. Of course they wouldn’t make it simple! Had to cut original feet and use dial dots adhesive. Took 8 freaking tries to align perfectly without sticking crooked. Sweat dripping on the movement when positioning new hands – used rodico to clean oil smudges after. Noticed the seconds hand was touching dial edge, had to bend it upward 0.1mm with micro pliers.
Strap Surprise
Thought strap would be easy part. Picked up expensive green alligator leather from leathercraft store. When placing original Santos deployant clasp onto new strap… pins were too thick! Had to shave strap holes with razor blade while swearing at Cartier’s stupid proprietary hardware. Custom buckle finally clicked after cutting 2mm off strap tail.
Final Assembly & Regrets
Seated the crystal back in place with my cheap crystal press tool. Left fingerprints everywhere – cleaned with ammonia-free Windex for ten minutes. Noticed the green dial looks darker than Instagram pics under normal light. Still sexy as hell though. Wore it outside and caught five people checking it out. Totally worth bleeding on the date wheel.
What I’d Do Different
- Never again use crappy hand pullers – buying Bergeon tool kit next time
- Should’ve ordered matching strap BEFORE starting tear down
- Work inside ziplock bag to keep dust out of movement
- Maybe practice this shit on cheap Seiko first
