How to Install a Cartier-Style Deployant Buckle on a Watch Strap

A Cartier-style deployant buckle attaches differently from a pin buckle. Each strap piece slides through an opening at one end of the buckle, folds back on itself and is pressed in place. This 52-second video shows the whole fitting, and the written steps follow below it.

Fit the buckle before the strap goes on your watch

We recommend installing the buckle first, while the strap is off the watch. It makes the job much easier: with the watch head out of the way, you can hold both strap pieces and the buckle in your hands.

How to install a Cartier-style deployant buckle, step by step

1. Open the buckle (0:18)

Unfold the buckle fully so you can reach the opening at each end.

2. Slide one strap piece through the opening (0:20)

Take one strap piece and slide its end through the opening on one side of the buckle.

3. Fold it back and press both sides (0:25)

Fold the strap back, then gently press both sides to secure it in place.

4. Repeat on the other side (0:30)

Slide the second strap piece through the opening on the other side, fold it back and gently press both sides to secure it. That's it: your buckle is installed, and the strap is ready to go on your watch.

5. Adjust the length if you need to (0:43)

You can adjust the strap length to your preference. Open that end of the buckle, slide the strap further through the opening or pull some back out, then fold it back and press both sides again.

Before you order a Cartier-style deployant

• Widths. Ours comes in 14, 16 and 18mm. That is the buckle width: the width of the strap where it meets the buckle, which on a tapered strap is narrower than the lug width. The Cartier-style options only appear for straps whose buckle end is one of those widths.
• Finishes. Gold, Steel or Rose gold. Pick one in the buckle options when you configure a strap; the price is shown on each option.
• Length. It is a single-fold clasp, so we may modify the strap length to suit the clasp mechanism. We set it for a correct fit when we make your strap.
• Small wrists. The buckle is asymmetrical, so on a very small wrist it can sit off to one side. A customer with a 5.5 in (14 cm) wrist found it extended too far to the side and switched to a standard deployant. On a wrist that size, consider our standard deployant or a pin buckle instead.

Keeping your original Cartier deployant?

If your watch came with its own Cartier deployant buckle, you can keep using it. Choose to use your own buckle when you configure a strap and upload a photo of the clasp, and we cut both strap ends to seat in it. Our Cartier watch straps cover the Tank Must, Tank Solo, Santos 100 and Santos Dumont, with the usual clasp width pre-selected for listed references.

FAQ

Do I need tools to install a Cartier-style buckle?

No. In the video the buckle is fitted entirely by hand: open it, slide each strap piece through, fold it back and press both sides.

Which buckle widths does the Cartier-style deployant come in?

14, 16 and 18mm, in Gold, Steel or Rose gold.

Start your own build from our custom leather watch straps and add a Cartier-style deployant when you configure it. Every strap is made to order, so allow 2–3 weeks to delivery.

Cartier is a trademark of its owner. VGreen is not affiliated with Cartier; our Cartier-style deployant is an aftermarket buckle.