REVOLUTION_International_Vol 54

Next, housed in yellow gold and with a matching
champagne dial in sunray finishing is “La Baladeuse” (in
English, the portable lamp), which was a motorized airship
that Santos-Dumont flew in Parisian skies in 1903. It was
the ninth version of his airships, a single-seater air travel
solution that was meant for use in urban spaces. For the “La
Baladeuse”, a matching olive green alligator leather strap
and a sapphire cabochon crown are paired with the watch,
which is limited to 300 pieces and bears a drawing of the
skyship on the closed caseback.
The third model is “Le 14 bis”, a steel edition with a
yellow gold bezel and dark grey dial that’s restricted to
500 pieces globally. The “Santos-Dumont 14 bis” winged
aircraft for which this watch was named, was inspired by the
flight of birds, with a minimalist construction and cables that
connected the fins of the craft with the rudder and fuselage.
It was the aircraft in which his first public European flight
took place, and with which he won the Archdeacon Cup as
well as the Aero Club of France prize for flight distance. The
watch bears an engraving of the aircraft on the back and a
crown capped with a blue spinel, as well as a matching grey
alligator leather strap.
A final model in the limited edition, and what might be
considered Santos-Dumont’s crowning glory, is the “La
Demoiselle”, inspired by the monoplane with which he
capped his career as an aviator, prior to the start of the First
World War. The watch is inspired by Santos-Dumont’s
Panama hat, which was a style icon of his. The light brown
dial with “pomme” hands bears a texture of Panama hat
weave, and is matched with a made-to-measure Panama
weave strap. As a highlight and homage to Santos-Dumont’s
significance to Cartier, the little “Cartier” signature that
typically appears at the seven o’clock marker has “Santos”
on it instead. The watch is restricted to 30 pieces, and
comes with a full box and set of accessories, including a
pair of white-gold cufflinks with red tiger-eye inlay, brown
alligator leather travel pouch as well as an additional brown
alligator leather strap.
A REFINED SANTOS-DUMONT
Along with the addition of these notable timepieces into Cartier’s collection,
the maison has also given the Santos-Dumont a new size, while refining its
proportions even further for the modern-day gent or lady. The watch bears the
same mechanically-wound caliber 430MC and the case and form of the watch
have been carefully adjusted to fit to the watch proportionally. Since the 430MC
is a slimmer watch movement, that means that watch case also has a reduced
profile on the wrist. Thus, even at its generous sizing of 47mm by 34mm, it sits at
well under 8mm thick.
With the Santos-Dumont XL, the brand has taken great care to ensure that
the proportions of every single component on the watch are adjusted to ensure
the overall aesthetic of the timepiece remains coherent. That has meant adjusting
the sizing of the Roman numeral hour markers to their slant, the minute track and
even the beveled surfaces as well as the lugs and bezels. The result is a watch that
doesn’t just look scaled up or down, but designed as if it were an original creation.
Three references of the new Santos-Dumont XL have been introduced, with
an all-steel edition with blue alligator leather strap and blue spinel cabochon
crown; a steel-and-gold model with a blue spinel cabochon crown and black
alligator leather strap; and finally, an all pink-gold model with a light gray alligator
leather strap and sapphire cabochon on the crown.
There are plenty more that Cartier will be presenting this year to collectors, all
of which reflect a nuanced focus on its design and an intimate understanding of
its clientele, who appreciate fine watchmaking paired with consummate design.
Watch this space for more.
CARTIER
SANTOS-DUMONT LIMITED EDITIONS
MOVEMENT Manual-winding caliber 430MC; hours and minutes; 38-hour
power reserve
CASE 43.5mm x 31.4mm (W); stainless steel with 18K yellow-gold bezel
and spinel cabochon crown, limited to 500 pieces (“Le 14 bis”); 18K yellow
gold with sapphire cabochon crown, limited to 300 pieces (“La Baladeuse”);
platinum with ruby cabochon crown, limited to 100 pieces (Le Brésil)
STRAP Alligator leather
CARTIER
SANTOS-DUMONT “LA DEMOISELLE”
MOVEMENT Manual-winding caliber 430MC; hours and minutes; 38-hour
power reserve
CASE 46.6mm x 33.9mm (W); platinum; limited to 30 pieces
STRAP Panama weave made-to-measure fabric; brown alligator leather;
comes in a watch box with an alligator leather travel pouch and white-gold
cufflinks with red tiger-eye inlay
CARTIER
SANTOS-DUMONT XL
MOVEMENT Manual-winding caliber 430MC; hours and minutes; 38-hour
power reserve
CASE 46.6mm x 33.9mm; pink gold with sapphire cabochon crown; stainless
steel with 18K pink-gold bezel and blue spinel cabochon crown; steel with
blue spinel cabochon crown
STRAP Alligator leather
108 BACKTOTHEFUTURE