Stop Sleeping on the Cartier Roadster
A lot of men skip Cartier because the Tank is too dainty and the Santos too polished, but the new Roadster finally gives the brand some teeth.
by JV Ordoñez
Published on Jul 5, 2026
The Roadster has mostly been seen as the estranged middle child of the Cartier family, outshined by the infinitely more popular Cartier Tank and Santos, and has almost been lost to the section of those timepieces that get overshadowed by the luxury jewelry house's legacy pieces.
While the mildly more popular Ballon Bleu has seen a bit more love from A-listers such as Timothée Chalamet (though he has since pivoted away from traditional watch players and has declared his love for Urban Jürgensen), it's still seen as too feminine for many men.
The new Cartier Roadster, to us, is an avenue for a lot of guys to get into Cartier since it doesn't have to depend on being too hyped, too flashy, or something that hinges on resale value.
The 2026 Cartier Roadster with a blue, textured dial and the signature Roman numeral indices
First released in 2002, the Roadster leaned hard into automotive speed, true to its name. Tonneau-shaped case, speedometer-style dial, conical crown, and a date magnifier built to look like a headlight. Other high-octane pieces like the TAG Heuer Monaco have gotten similar refreshes lately, riding the wave of Formula 1's resurgence as a sport. Watches and Wonders 2026 gave the Roadster its own jolt, quietly slotting a new model back into the modern watch conversation. This is a particular watch, and it's still criminally slept on.
It comes in medium and large sizes, in steel, two-tone, and yellow gold. The large model measures 47 x 38 mm and 10.06 mm thick, running on the caliber 1847 MC. The medium sits at 42.5 x 34.9 mm and is 9.7 mm thick, powered by the caliber 1899 MC. Both are water-resistant to 100 meters.
That kind of construction already puts the Roadster ahead of most of what Cartier has historically built for men who want a daily driver watch, something they can trust without babying it.
The rework makes the OG look dated by comparison. The date window now sits under a metal cabochon, the bracelet runs shorter links, and four new rivets sit across the bezel.
Our pick is the steel version. It comes with a blue dial option the original run never had, and it's the one most likely to convert a skeptic. Call this piece a strap monster too. The QuickSwitch system lets you move between a metal bracelet and a leather or rubber strap without touching a screwdriver.
This isn't a watch for everyone. But for the next generation of watch-collecting men, it's a genuine game changer, a tapered, masculine silhouette that gives Cartier real footing in a market it's never fully owned. It's pure class.
Esquire PH's resident music scribe, wristwatch disciple, and essayist fluent in niche internet subcultures and Philippine politics.