Upgrade your off-duty look with the pink-gold timepiece, new to the Santos collection.

Just listen to that. Nothing, but the gentle lap of waves against your fibreglass hull and the ching-ching of ropes against the mast. Or is that the chink of ice inside a crystal tumbler? Either way, it’s definitely time for sundowners – you can tell from how the case and bracelet of the voluptuous, fully pink-gold Santos de Cartier (above), are glowing in the tropical gloaming. Of course, it’s perhaps doubtful Mr Louis Cartier had the Côte d’Azur lifestyle in mind in 1904, when he responded to Brazilian aviation pioneer Mr Alberto Santos-Dumont’s request for a wrist-born timepiece – especially as the resulting watch was supposed to free-up the latter’s hands while wrestling his flying machines over the rooftops of Paris, rather than languidly nursing a cocktail and clutching the handrail of a sundeck. But, this is Cartier we’re talking about, so to suit his stylish flying friend, Mr Cartier gave his creation – the first Santos de Cartier – a certain amount of flair and élan. And this is what, over the course of its long history, has established it as a genuine icon of watch design, with permission to climb aboard any highfalutin vessel it chooses, be it wire-braced monoplane or 116-ft superyacht.

The return of the Santos de Cartier was hands-down the biggest news of January’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie showcase, four decades on from the 114-year-old icon’s last reimagining. Back in 1978, Santos was being teed up as the luxury watch of the 1980s – a status cemented by the yellow-gold number gleaming beneath the French cuffs of a certain Gordon Gekko in Wall Street (1987) – and this pink-gold-on-gold beauty is welcome proof that the notorious decade is back, red braces and all, with an even sleeker set of curves. Watchmakers loved an exposed screw head back in the 1980s, which only goes to show the far-sightedness of Mr Cartier’s design of 1904 – the screws a reflection of the encroaching urban architecture that elevated mechanics as elements of beauty. But, here, things go up to 11, with the screw motif running the full length of its sinuous bracelet – now adjustable without a tool, and instantly swappable with calfskin leather thanks to the patent-pending QuickSwitch system. What’s more, in a first for the Santos, you’ll find Cartier’s in-house automatic movement, the 1847 MC, ticking away beneath the bonnet. All in all, the whole package, with corner office (plus superyacht for the weekend) written all over it.

It’s bold and it’s beautiful – the ultimate in statement wristwear that speaks for itself, right? Well, alpha-male watches of this particular distinction can run the risk of wearing you, so dress up or dress down appropriately. Either way, make sure you’re “owning it”, as well as, you know, actually owning it. Treading the teak planks of your Riviera runabout, try channelling the louche unstructured linens of Mr Armie Hammer in Call Me by Your Name (2017) – boxy, unbuttoned short-sleeved shirts, even shorter shorts and an enigmatic attitude. Otherwise, reach for the opposite end of the spectrum with a tailored-fit, double-breasted three-piece, preferably in royal blue with chalk stripes you could land a Learjet on.