Cartier Takes Flight with Skeletonized Santos-Dumont Watches

The engineering marvel of taking flight and the man who made it possible were the inspirational vision behind Cartier’s latest Santos-Dumont watch.

The sleek yet classical square design outfitted in yellow gold and navy lacquer is a tribute to Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian aviator and acclaimed inventor of the early twentieth century who gained fame for designing over 22 flying machines and risking his life during experimental flights.

A feat of technical achievement, the new Santos-Dumont watch highlights a specially developed 9629 MC automatic skeleton calibre, which took the Cartier Manufacture nearly two years to develop.

Each structural detail of the movement honours the aviator’s legacy. Among these is a miniaturized oscillating weight made in the shape of a replica of the Demoiselle—a groundbreaking plane design created by Santos-Dumont in 1907. The weight appears to soar over a globe in a move that seems to defy gravity, akin to the planes themselves.