Essentially the most requested query I’ve obtained over time is whether or not I want the Tank Louis Cartier or the Santos-Dumont. And to let you know the reality, I nonetheless couldn’t say!
The Santos-Dumont is a bit sportier, so typically I want that look over that of the elegant Tank. However simply as typically it’s the opposite manner round.
The Tank and Santos-Dumont are the pillars of the Cartier timepiece assortment. These two watches not solely kickstarted Cartier’s watch empire however have additionally been retained throughout the assortment for eternity, albeit with new variations launched every so often starting from gown to sport.
As I described in The World‘s First Pilot’s Watch: Cartier Santos-Dumont 1904 To 2018, the Santos-Dumont was created in 1904 however solely launched to the general public in 1911. Since then, this mannequin has been produced in pretty small editions, normally in platinum with a leather-based strap and deployant buckle. But additionally in yellow and even white gold, although these are pretty uncommon.
From a supplies standpoint alone, this watch might by no means grow to be a cut price since treasured metals have their value. It was due to this fact exceptional that Cartier determined to make an impressed sporty variation of the mannequin merely referred to as “the Santos” in 1978 in metal with a gold bezel and gold screws on the metal bracelet.
That Santos-Dumont marked the primary time that Cartier launched a watch not totally product of treasured steel.

The 2019 Cartier Santos-Dumont massive on the wrist
The 2019 Cartier Santos-Dumont
At SIHH 2019, we have been shocked to see a surprising new traditionally impressed Santos-Dumont mannequin. And to my eye it appears to be like even higher than the mannequin from the now-defunct Assortment Privée Cartier Paris (CPCP) line.

Left to proper: the 2019 small Cartier Santos-Dumont, the discontinued Assortment Privée Cartier Paris Santos-Dumont, and the 2019 massive Cartier Santos-Dumont
With its new dimensions, the Santos-Dumont is bigger than Assortment Privée Cartier Paris model.
And one other big distinction – one which I like loads – is the typeface of the numerals. After all they’re Roman, however now thinner and extra stretched than we’re used to, which provides the watch a extremely classic look extra carefully resembling the model from 1916.

Cartier Santos-Dumont from 1916
One other new and vital element is the crown. Earlier fashions had a comparatively small crown, which made it typically exhausting to wind the watch and set the time. Cartier selected a bigger crown for this new mannequin that once more jogs my memory of early variations. These particulars make this new Santos-Dumont an actual homage to the historic mannequin.

Crown of the Cartier Santos-Dumont
Larger and wider, a greater grip is the outcome. Pulling the crown out and adjusting the fingers may be very comfy, though that doesn’t should be completed a lot anymore because of the quartz caliber now powering the time show.
The most important shock, although, is the case itself. The historic traces of the traditional Santos-Dumont case are retained in a phenomenal manner, with the case again held by 4 screws becoming seamlessly into the slim metal case. Alberto Santos-Dumont’s signature is engraved on the again simply beneath the model title.
A stainless-steel case for the Cartier Santos-Dumont?
Cartier determined for a metal case, which actually should have triggered some critical arguments on the model’s Paris headquarters: releasing a males’s wristwatch in metal that had to date solely been out there in treasured metals is a really large factor.
That was fairly surprising to me since I might have anticipated such an vital mannequin to be crafted in platinum, ideally with a platinum bracelet and solely out there upon request from one in every of Cartier’s three flagship shops.
However Cartier had a special view, opting to achieve for a a lot wider viewers with this historic Cartier watch. Following a technique to maintain value down, metal was then an ideal selection. And let’s face it, metal is a good selection for nearly any watch: it’s sturdy, extra scratch resistant than gold, and simple to take care of.
Nonetheless, that should have been fairly a choice for Cartier, contemplating that that is the well-known maison’s first males’s watch. However occasions have modified, and now this case variation makes it the right first look ahead to youthful individuals or second look ahead to extra seasoned customers alongside an even bigger daily-wear sports activities watch.

A pair of 2019 Cartier Santos-Dumont fashions
It’s a watch that’s at all times able to go as it’s powered by a quartz motion. Although, truthfully, that could be one other component for some to beat.
However we’re not speaking right here about any bizarre quartz caliber: that is Cartier’s high-efficiency quartz motion with an autonomy of roughly six years – twice so long as conventional quartz actions. To attain this feat, the Cartier manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds reworked and resized the motion to cut back its vitality consumption after which mixed it with a brand new high-performance battery.
Let me first confess that solely once I rediscovered my previous Panthère watch from 1977, which can be powered by a quartz caliber, did I begin to respect one of these motion once more. The actual fact is that because of the quartz motion, the watch is at all times able to show the fitting time. It’s very exact and cheap to take care of.
The motion brings the value down to simply €3,550 for the small and €3,800 for the massive mannequin, making it an actual no-brainer for me.
On this value class, it isn’t important that the watch be mechanical.
Over the previous ten years, we’ve got realized what superb high-end calibers Cartier can develop and produce, and we are going to nonetheless proceed see new watches launched utilizing these actions – like the brand new Tonneau XL Skeleton Twin Time, which is a first-rate instance.
Cartier is king in the case of design, and that’s what this new Santos-Dumont is all about.
For extra info, please go to www.cartier.com/en-us/collections/santos-de-cartier/santos-dumont.
Fast Info 2019 Cartier Santos-Dumont
Case: stainless-steel, two-tone metal and pink gold, or pink gold; 31.4 x 31.4 mm (massive) and 27.5 x 27.5
Motion: manufacture quartz
Features: hours, minutes
Value €3,550 (small mannequin) and €3,800 (massive mannequin) in stainless-steel
* This text was first printed on January 19, 2019 at The Finest-Trying Cartier Santos-Dumont Is As Of 2019 The Most Reasonably priced.
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