Santos de Cartier Black

For Jessica Bakis, winning the black Santos de Cartier was an unforgettable surprise.

Jessica joined Wolf Watch Club only a few weeks after her husband began entering the competitions. On just her third competition, with two entries, she became the winner of a watch that perfectly matched her growing passion for timepieces.

Jessica is 48 years old, a mother, and has been married for 25 years. She works as a hair colorist and spends much of her time focused on her career and family.

“Lately, I feel like all I do is work,” she said. “I have three little dogs that I love spending time with, and I love to cook.”

She also joked about another favourite pastime.

“If shopping were an Olympic sport, I think I’d medal in it.”

Jessica has long appreciated luxury goods and is an avid handbag collector, but her interest in watches only began developing more recently.

“I always appreciated watches and timepieces. My husband really loves them, and they’re beautiful. I support him purchasing them because they appreciate in value, they’re collectors’ items, and they’re like an investment.”

For her day-to-day life as a hair colorist, Jessica normally relies on her Apple Watch. Her perspective on traditional watches began to change when her husband bought her a Cartier Tank.

“This year, I fell in love with the Cartier Tank, and my husband bought it for me. I think that broke the ice and led to me falling in love with timepieces.”

She soon found herself looking at watches online and exploring styles beyond the smaller women’s pieces she had previously worn.

“Instead of my husband just looking at men’s watches, I started looking at women’s Rolexes and women’s watches. But I love men’s watches. I love the way they look on a woman’s wrist.”

Although Jessica enjoys feminine fashion, she loves the contrast created by a larger, sportier watch.

“I wear a lot of dresses and a lot of makeup, but I think a men’s watch gives almost a masculine edge. I just love that style.”

After watching her husband enter Wolf Watch Club competitions, Jessica decided it was time to try for herself.

“I told him, ‘I’m going to buy raffle entries. I want to do it. I want one of these watches.”

Her husband laughed and told her to go for it.

“I said, ‘I’m going to do it. Why can’t I have a watch?’”

On the night of the competition, Jessica was surrounded by her family. Her parents were visiting, and her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend were also home. Everyone was sitting outside together while Jessica’s husband watched the live competition on his phone.

“We were sitting outside on the deck at the table, and my husband was watching it live on his phone.”

Jessica was sitting beside him when he suddenly heard her name.

“He said, ‘They called your name.’ I was like, ‘What?’ He said, ‘Jessica, you won. They called your name.’”

Jessica immediately reached for her own phone to bring up the live stream.

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ It was crazy. We were so surprised.”

The win quickly created some playful competition between Jessica and her husband.

“My husband said, ‘I don’t think lightning will strike twice, so maybe next week it’s my turn.’”

Jessica was not ready to concede the next win so easily.

“I said, ‘Well, I don’t know about that, because I won another entry.’”

After receiving the Santos de Cartier, Jessica was thrilled by how it looked in person.

“I picked the watch up yesterday, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s breathtaking.”

The bracelet was slightly too large for her small wrist, so she planned to take it to a jeweller to have it professionally fitted.

“I don’t want to take the links out of the watch myself, so I’m going to bring it to a jeweller to have it sized.”

Her husband briefly thought Jessica might give the watch to him, but the Santos was exactly the type of larger watch she had begun to love.

“My husband thought I was going to give it to him.”

That was not going to happen.

“It’s a men’s watch, and I love that style. I have a dainty, pretty watch at home, the small Cartier Tank, and I absolutely love it. But that’s a dainty women’s watch.”

The black Santos offered something entirely different: the bold, larger look Jessica had been admiring on women’s wrists.

For Jessica, the win was more than an exciting moment. It marked the beginning of a new chapter in her growing appreciation for watches.

“It was such a wonderful surprise. It’s a beautiful watch, and I feel so lucky.”

“I’m so thankful to have had that opportunity.”

From entering alongside her husband to hearing her name called while surrounded by family, Jessica’s third Wolf Watch Club competition became a moment none of them will forget.