Basketball player Shaquille O'Neal spotted wearing a Cartier

Shaquille O'Neal was photographed wearing a Cartier Santos 100 XL Chronograph in rose gold, reference WM502351, secured to his wrist via a crocodile leather strap measured at an extraordinary 54mm lug-to-lug width — a custom dimension that underscores just how physically exceptional the man remains long after retirement. The 42mm case, imposing on most wrists, reads almost proportionate on O'Neal.

The Santos 100 XL Chronograph ref. WM502351 is powered by Cartier's calibre 8630 MC, an integrated column-wheel chronograph movement with a flyback function, offering 48 hours of power reserve and visible through the sapphire caseback. The rose gold case follows the architectural grammar that Louis Cartier and Alberto Santos-Dumont established in 1904 — exposed screws on the bezel, a square case with rounded corners — making the Santos the first purpose-built pilot's watch and, by extension, the ancestor of every luxury sports watch that followed. The diamond pavé dial replaces the standard guilloché sunray surface with a field of brilliant-cut stones, turning a technically serious chronograph into a high-jewellery statement without compromising legibility entirely.

Among collectors, the Santos 100 XL Chronograph occupies an interesting position. Purists tend to prefer the cleaner dials, but the pavé reference WM502351 commands attention in the market precisely because it fuses genuine complication — a flyback chronograph is not a trivial mechanism — with gem-setting craft. It is the kind of piece that auction houses slot into jewellery sales as comfortably as watch sales, which gives it a dual collector base.

O'Neal's affinity for statement timepieces is well documented. The four-time NBA champion, three-time Finals MVP and 14-time All-Star selection has the cultural gravity to wear a watch this demonstrative without it wearing him. His wrist real estate is, frankly, some of the most valuable in celebrity watch spotting.

At retail, the Cartier Santos 100 XL Chronograph ref. WM502351 was listed at prices reflecting both the rose gold precious metal case and the intensive gem-setting labour involved in the pavé dial. On the grey market, examples trade around the $35,000 mark, a figure that represents reasonable value for a flyback chronograph in 18k rose gold from a maison with this depth of horological heritage.