After 115 years, the world’s first pilot’s watch finally becomes a chronograph

Dating back to the early 1900s and the pioneering days of aviation, Cartier’s Santos can fairly be claimed to be the precursor of the modern pilot’s watch – it is, of course, named after the Brazilian- born inventor and aviator Alberto Santos- Dumont. At the 2019 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie ( SIHH), a range of Santos Chronographs was revealed, powered by a tweaked version of the maison’s 1904- CH MC calibre, and available in various versions – stainless steel with black ADLC bezel, steel with yellowgold bezel or solid rose gold ( and with a range of alligator and rubber straps and metal bracelets that all feature the Cartier Quickswitch system, as well as deployant clasps) – but all in the collection’s largest case, which measures 43.3mm by 51.3mm. Especially noteworthy is this six- hander’s neat operation, which is via a single pusher at the left side of the case and a multifunctional crown.