Cartier Santos Dumont
When you hear the Cartier Santos Dumont watch collection, you don't think of a pilot's watch, but of a fashionable men's watch. The Santos Dumont is the first pilot's watch and at the same time the first wristwatch in the world. At the beginning of the 20th century, men wore pocket watches in their jackets rather than wristwatches, as did pilots. So did the great aviation pioneer Santos-Dumont. He devoted most of his time to aviation studies and experiments. He quickly realized that looking at the pocket watch with one hand and controlling the aircraft with the other free hand was an impractical and dangerous thing. He asked for help from a well-known watch industry representative and good friend, Louis Cartier. The watch icon Cartier Santos Dumont is born.
Purity, precision and perfection.
It is said that Cartier found inspiration for the square case, which was atypical at the time, from a traditional pocket watch. The eight screws that secure the watch glass are intended to be reminiscent of the legs of the Eiffel Tower. For quick and clearly visible readability, Louis chose the minute and hour hands on a bright dial, which were indicated by Roman numerals. Cartier has remained true to this design to this day. The main point, however, was attaching a leather strap to the case so that the pilot Santos Dumont could wear it on his wrist and thus keep both hands on the cockpit and at the same time read the time safely.
Stylish since 1911
The pilot Santos Dumont wore the wristwatch, which was unique at the time, and not just for flying. This is how the Cartier Santos Dumont succeeded and attracted great attention. In 1911, Louis Cartier commissioned the watchmaker Edmond Jaeger to mass-produce the watch. Since then, the Cartier Santos has been the first pilot's watch and at the same time the first wristwatch and to this day it is impossible to imagine the watch world without it. Today, the Cartier Santos Dumont is not only worn by stylish men, women have also discovered the classic, timeless design for themselves. Cartier designs and produces its Santos Dumont in three sizes (small and large model with quartz movement and the extra large hand-wound model). With high-quality leather straps and high-quality materials, such as 750 solid gold, or in combination with steel and with or without a diamond bezel. The missing second hand has remained true to the aviator design to this day.
