Cartier's Santos, a timeless watch icon
In 1904, Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos – Dumont asked Louis Cartier to make a watch that he could use while flying. His pocket watch was too cumbersome and distracting.
Inspired by early wristwatches for women, Cartier designed a square to rectangular case with Roman numerals for the hours. He mounted the case on a leather strap. The first wristwatch for men was born.
Santos – Dumont unwittingly became Cartier’s first ambassador. While he was photographed in his plane, his watch was visible. The watch became incredibly popular. It was not until 1911 that Cartier started producing the watch. The first version was ‘named Santos-Dumont’, after his flying friend. The watch had a rectangular case and was available in platinum or gold.
The Santos is still in production today. There are countless variations, but they all have the same basic characteristics, a rectangular case with Roman numerals.
In 2004, Cartier launched the Santos 100 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the watch, of which the XL is the largest size. This autumn auction we offer no less than three of these models, in steel and in gold, under lot numbers 546, 549 and 552
