SOARING ELEGANCE
Cartier honours aeronaut Alberto Santos-Dumont with XL range
Cartier’s ties with aviation dates back to 1904, when Louis Cartier designed a practical timepiece for Brazilian inventor and aeronaut Alberto Santos-Dumont, who had difficulty in reading the time from his pocket watch when in flight.
The original Santos-Dumont wristwatch was housed in a square case with a bezel featuring exposed screws. The construction echoed the refinement and symmetry of Parisian architecture such as that of the Eiffel Tower’s four angular corners.
Back then, the watch’s geometric aesthetics were as revolutionary as Santos-Dumont’s flying machines.
Cartier pays tribute to the aviation pioneer through the oversized Santos-Dumont XL limited editions powered by a manual winding mechanical movement. The case backs are engraved with his signature, S-D, and his magnificent flying machines.
In the 1890s, Santos-Dumont came to France, where his inventions got off the ground. Firstly, he unveiled the balloon Le Brésil in July, 1898, after which a series of airships numbered 1 to 22 emerged until 1909.
On board the No.14-bis, described as a “kite of compartments”, the pilot, standing in the fuselage, was connected to the rudder and fins by cables.
This engine-powered flying machine consecutively won the Archadeacon Cup and Aéro-Club de France prize in October and November 1906 for its aviation feats.
Santos-Dumont showed the world that manned-powered flight was possible for heavier-than-air machines, as the No.14-bis historically took off by its own means and flew a distance of 220m at Le Bagatelle airfield in France, on Nov 12, 1906.
The Santos-Dumont XL collection features Le Brésil and No.14-bis, respectively engraved on the caseback of a platinum model with a ruby cabochon and silvered dial, and a steel version with a yellow gold bezel, blue spinel winding crown, and anthracite grey dial.
The No.9 La Baladeuse was an experimental motorised airship in which Santos-Dumont previously flew over Paris in 1903. The small, single-seater machine appears on a yellow gold variation with a sapphire winding crown and champagne dial.
The French maison has also released another platinum Santos-Dumont XL timepiece with a ruby cabochon and an engraving of his most accomplished flying machine, La Demoiselle, created in 1908. It was one of the first mass-produced aircraft that led to a new aviation era.
The stylish Santos-Dumont was always seen wearing a Panama hat, which inspires the woven design of the dial and strap of this special edition, delivered in a lacquered wooden box.