Here is one of those interesting Cartier watches that you don’t see very often. Out of production for maybe a decade now, this is a rare, true sports watch from the ‘fancy watch brand.’ Many of you might be familiar with the Must 21 collection from Cartier. The chronograph is probably the most well known of the line. Though the Autoscaph 21 is sportiest version around. An interesting mixture of traditional Cartier elements and a sporty look. Only thing that may prevent people from sporting the Autoscaph today is the size. Medium at best, the little guy is just a hair under 37mm wide. Then again, it is perfect for the modern lady if she likes it.

Set in a steel case with a nice polished black stone cabochon in the crown, this is a Cartier watch all the way through. The bezel visually integrates into the sloped flange chapter ring right under the sapphire crystal. The steel on steel look is nice, but makes the dial look pretty small. Which it is. A design experiment if anything. Makes for a petite look that is mostly popular with women these days, but still has qualities that many like. The bezel with its classic looking Roman numerals is a little hint that our friend here isn’t a pure sports watch. Cartier DNA is still dominant. I love the use of the repeating Cartier ‘double C’ logo on the dial. Hour markers are applied and covered with SuperLumiNova. Aside from it being small, the sporty looking dial is quite legible. Note the magnification lens over the date window, and that the date disc is black with lighter colored numerals (you know I love that look). Cartier did the same thing on the newer, Roadster S watches (that I reviewed here).

Cartier gives the watch a weird bracelet/strap. The first part of each is a link style bracelet with metal center links and black rubber segments. At the ends of the bracelet it turns into a strap with a told over Cartier tension clasp. Why they didn’t want to make it a bracelet completely, I am not sure.  The case is water resistant to 100 meters by the way. Inside the watch is a Cartier Calibre 2137 automatic movement that is liked a base Swiss ETA. Not too easy to find (especially in the US), the Cartier Must Autoscaph 21 is really only found in pre-owned examples. Prices are in the $1,000 – $2,000 as far as I can see.

See a Cartier Autoscaph 21 watch available on James List here.