Welcome back to our magazine, dear friends of IWS. Many, enthusiasts and others, wonder when the wristwatch first made its appearance in history. We know for sure that this magical object came about as a result of a functional need, not as a shiny accessory to adorn the wrist of the wearer.
Well, the first men’s wristwatch to be made was Cartier’s Santos Dumont, a timepiece that not only marks the history of a French watchmaking house, but also accompanied human beings in one of their historic feats, always dreamed of and imagined in Leonardo Da Vinci’s sketches.
The Story
Of course, at that time it was the only tool to tell what time of day it was, and people from the 1500s onward certainly could not walk around with a wall clock under their arm! So, it was decided to miniaturize it by making it practical and handy, thus creating pocket watches.
It was not until 1810 that visionary watchmaker Abraham Louis Breguet made the watch wearable on the wrist, at the express request of the Queen of Naples Caroline Murat (a watch whose traces are still lost today). From that time on, we can say that the wristwatch was aimed mainly at the “fairer sex”; men had to take their “onion” watch out of their breast pocket.
It was the end of the 19th century and France was projecting itself into the future as it entered one of its most prosperous periods, one in which some of its greatest inventions took place; we are talking about the Belle Epoque, that juncture in which Parisian galleries were illuminated thanks to the spread of electricity, transportation such as the Metro connected the various neighborhoods of Paris, and the Lumiere brothers’ cinema entertained people after a long day’s work.
In the field of aeronautics, France was the most advanced country in the world thanks to the Montgolfier brothers, who initiated the conquest of the skies by having the first hot-air balloon in history lifted off the ground. In time, attempts were also made to build flying machines inspired by flight and the anatomy of birds; Alberto Santos-Dumont, then a famous engineer of Brazilian descent, built one of the first airplanes. It was called Santos-Dumont 14 Bis and on October 23, 1906, it made its first public flight covering a distance of 60 meters at a height of 3 meters.
Alberto Santos-Dumont, encountered difficulties in being able to read the time while at the controls of his biplane, so he exposed the problem to his friend watchmaker and jeweler Louis Cartier, asking how the time could be read without having to take his hands off the stick.
Mr. Cartier immediately seized the opportunity to pull a solution out of his magic hat: miniaturize a pocket watch by making it wearable on the wrist (the only place on the body easily visible while at the controls of the plane).
The year was 1904, and Cartier, with the help of master watchmaker Edmond Jaeger, created the first men’s wristwatch in history: a square platinum case with a compact, slender design, in full Art Deco style, with exposed rivets that set a polished bezel to it, which framed a white dial with Roman numerals. Iconic became the crown for manual winding that housed a blue cabochon (one of the hallmarks of Cartier timepieces).
In short, the first public flight in human history could only have had a special partner; two fruits of technology and engineering that forever left a mark in the pursuit of the avant-garde.
Becoming popular due to the notoriety of the French-Brazilian pilot and the importance of the historic event, the Cartier Santos Dumont was marketed in 1911 selling around a thousand units until 1973, when through a “restyling” and the implantation of new versions, this timepiece took on new life.
A success that endures to this day
Elegant and never vulgar, it became popular with sophisticated customers; the bracelet version quickly spread, winning the hearts and wrists of “Yuppies” in the dear old 1980s.
In 1987, Cartier launched the Santos Galbée, which was a version of the Santos that was distinctive in that it had a curved profile case with which it comfortably hugged the wrist better.
Three versions have been produced to date: steel, yellow gold and platinum, with leather strap or bracelet. Since 1998 some versions (in gold or platinum) have been included in the Collection Prive Cartier Paris (CPCP).
On the centenary of this historic model, the Parisian maison churned out a version that strongly resembled the 1904 Cartier Santos-Dumont i.e., platinum case, white dial and brown leather strap; it is the Santos 100.
Final Thoughts
Despite being 120 years old, this magnificent timepiece remains undoubtedly current and elegant, although its design has never changed, it continues to be a huge success.
We can certainly say that the Cartier Santos Dumont is a symbol of the meeting of two passionate visionaries, the legacy of a dream that changed the world.
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