CARTIER SANTOS

Under the guidance of its founder Louis, “jeweller of kings and king of jewellers”, the Cartier company created the first wristwatch that was not one of the many adaptations of the pocket-watch or a sample designed for military purposes but a real and true original pioneer model: the Cartier Santos takes its name from its principal inspirator, the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont. Brazilian and from a rich family, with a passion for Jules Verne as well flying, he was well known in Paris salons for his elegance, his participation in sports and his eccentric lifestyle. It was said he had at home two metre high table, chairs and bed, confirming what he once said: “the more I am able to distance myself from the ground the better I feel.”
It was on the occasion of a night of celebrations at Chez Maxim’s that Santos-Dumont demonstrated to Louis Cartier the need to wear, at the controls of his plane, a watch that was easier and faster to read than the classic pocket model. Previously the aviator had already commissioned the company in Rue de la Paix to make an exclusive watch to give to his friend Belle de Neuilly as a present, an ultraflat pocket model encrusted with rubies.
The birth of the first prototype designed by Louis Cartier dates back to 1904 with an unusual geometric shape, well visible screws on the bezel and particularly curved attachments for the leather strap. A few years later, on 12 November 1907, the aviator Santos flew above 220 metres in the record time of 22 seconds, measure with his exclusive and extremely modern wristwatch. It would appear that this historical model is currently being kept in a museum in São Paulo in Brazil.
At first Louise Cartier did not commercialise the wristwatch, perhaps because he was sceptical of their vendibility, one need only remember that at the time, non-pocket models were considered extravagant, even effeminate charms, and technically inferior because more exposed to bumps and knocks. But after only a few years, in 1911, the watch expert, recognising the publics changing tastes, started to put the first Santos watches with Jaeger movements on the market, whilst the first inscription “Montre de forme carré dite Santos-Dumont” referred to the platinum model sold to the count Kinsky on 30 January 1913.
For the pocket watch it was the start of a sharp decline, sped up by Cartier’s genius that, in association with Edmund Jaeger, created movements specifically for the new models and started to design several different wrist timepieces for men and women, enriching the French maison’s vast archives.
The Santos was re-born as a classic of haute horlogerie in 1978 with a shape and style typical of its beginnings, automatic movement and integrated bracelet, galbée case and rounded shape..
Completing the attributes of the historical model is the refined choice of materials, of which the steel and gold combination stands out, characteristics of one of the most counterfeited models ever, to the point that in 1983, Alain-Dominique Perrin, creator of the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art, organised a showy destruction of false Santos watches at Jouy-en-Josas, crushing them under a steamroller.
Through the years Cartier’s Santos collection was enriched by new models: the Galbée with lunar phases at the end of the 1980s, the quartz chrono/perpetual calendar with Chronoreflex movement of the previous decade, the Santos-Dumon with platinum and rose fold case of 1994 and the extraflat Santos-Dumont of the Cartier Paris Collection Privée with hand-wound mechanical movement (Cartier 049) of 1999.
Santos-Dumont watches are particularly elegant, available in gold only (yellow, rose and white), with hand-wound mechanical movement (Cartier 430 MC), without the classic screw bezel and with a smaller crown, fixed in the case and elegant and finely decorated dials.
To celebrate the company’s 100 year anniversary in 2004, the Santos 100 was introduced at the Geneva Salon with a larger diameter than the previous models, the characteristic carré case with rounded edges, bezel with 8 screws in proximity to the corners and a particularly sporty design. This model too plays on the contrast between shiny and matt finishes and the unique hexagonal crown with sapphire cabochon. The dial, on a silvered opal base, has large Roman numerals, blackened dagger hands with luminous inside for the hours and minutes and flush seconds hand. The company’s cryptic logo can be seen in the VII numeral, included to avoid counterfeiting. The movement is automatic and mechanical (Cartier 8630) and is equipped with a rapid date change function on the left side of the case. The Santos 100 is available in three versions: 18kt yellow gold case, steel with gold bezel and all steel. Each version is waterproof to 100m and comes with an alligator strap.
The latest additions to the Santos range are the Demoiselle models, named after Santos-Dumont’s airplane, made in gold and diamonds for the female public and the 2008 model with screw bezel “strong fuselage”, square case in brushed rose gold contrasting with its black dial, emphasised by Roman numerals, centre hands and red chapter ring. The colour contrast is visible on the bracelet too, black rubber with screws and rose gold clasp.
The special Santos Triple 100 model is also dedicated to women, 18kt white gold with a brilliant cut diamond on the crown and a diamond encrusted case. The case has a novel mechanism which allows for the changing of the face of the dial by way of the crown which moves the 14 horizontal polygons that the dial is made up of, showing three different aesthetic variations: the typical white dial with black roman numerals, the hand-painted head of a tiger in black and white and a pavé of diamonds and black sapphires, chessboard encrusted. Made in 20 numbered models, this model pays particular tribute to women (the luckiest), charmed by the possibility of changing the face depending on their mood or simply their taste.
At the Salon International d’Haute Horlogerie in 2009 Cartier presented another special creation in limited edition: the Santos 100 Squelette that shows its own “skelton”, with its movement visible. The watch measures 46.5 by 55mm and has sapphires on the front and the back.