Visual Description
The Ref. 1564 is the Santos Galbée in steel throughout: a 29 × 41 mm stainless steel case with curved sides and exposed screws on the bezel, and an integrated steel bracelet. The white dial carries black Roman numerals and a date window at 6 o'clock, with blued steel sword hands under a sapphire crystal. Some examples have a cream dial.
Reference Significance
The 1564 is the later of the two all-steel large Galbées on Archiva. The Ref. 987901 is the same size and also quartz, with an off-white dial and blue numerals, and is dated from 1989 to about 1992; Bukowskis catalogs the 1564 with the Cartier Cal. 687 and dates one to about 1997.
Many sale listings pair the 1564 with the catalog number W20060D6. No auction house or established dealer record consulted prints both numbers for one watch, so Archiva does not list W20060D6 as another number for this reference.
Historical Context
Cartier introduced the Santos Galbée in 1987, a more rounded version of the 1978 Santos launched with quartz movements. The 1564 carries that design in all-steel form. Bukowskis has sold a 1564 made to commemorate Cartier's 150th anniversary, dated circa 1997.
The start and end of production are not documented in the auction and dealer records consulted.
What to Look For
The bracelet is the main condition point. Check for stretched links (test for lateral play), missing or replaced screws, which should all match in head and slot, and the deployant clasp, which should open and close cleanly and lock firmly.
The bezel screws should be undamaged, with no burred slots or mismatched heads from careless removal. The sapphire crystal resists scratches, so deep marks suggest hard wear. The date should sit squarely in its window at 6 o'clock and change cleanly, and the case back should carry the 1564 number.
