Cartier Santos-Dumont: History, References, Specs and Prices | Ultimate Watch

The Cartier Santos-Dumont is the closest thing the modern catalog has to the watch that started wristwatches for men. Louis Cartier built the original in 1904 for his friend Alberto Santos-Dumont, the Brazilian aviator who could not read a pocket watch while flying his dirigibles over Paris with both hands on the controls. Cartier put the dial on his wrist instead, and the square case with exposed screws on the bezel became the template for a century of Cartier design. The current Santos-Dumont, relaunched in 2019, is the thin, flat, dress-leaning version of that lineage. It is not the sportier Santos de Cartier with the integrated bracelet and QuickSwitch links; the Santos-Dumont wears low, ships on a strap, and in its mechanical form runs a hand-wound movement so slim the whole watch measures around 7mm thick. We buy and sell both the Santos and the Santos-Dumont every week on 47th Street, and the Dumont is the one collectors reach for when they want the historical shape without the sports-watch heft. If you own one or want one, bring it into 19 W 47th St and we will talk numbers on the spot.