Flying to higher heights with the new Cartier Santos Dumont
12 Jun 2022
Cartier has always produced great quality watches but every now and then they smash it out of the park, often not necessarily with a huge ruckus like some of their colleagues within the horological world, almost like a hidden secret waiting to be discovered.
Here we have one of the variations of the Santos Dumont XL models they released this year in a steel and pink gold configuration that, in my humble opinion, is an absolute stunner.
The stamped guilloche pattern in the centre portion of the rose dial contrasts well with the brushed outer ring and the red minute track. The blue hands also match the signature Cartier crown with its blue spinel cabochon.
One of the biggest reasons I bought this watch was their choice of Arabic numerals in place of the usual Roman ones they use on the regular production Santos models. This is not often seen on Cartier watches and it's an interesting choice that they have opted for this in this iteration.
The watch comes in what's denoted as "XL", with measurements of 46.6mm x 34mm. On wrist, it's anything but. The sizing is XL by vintage standards, with men's circular watches often in the 30-35mm range, but compared to many modern offerings, this is hardly a large watch.
Coupled with the thinness of it, which is due to the 430 MC calibre, this is a timepiece that oozes elegance and manages to be vintage looking yet modern at the same time.
I was never into square shaped watches but when I had the opportunity to try the prototype on, I was swept away by its beauty and had to have it. I am glad to say this piece is in my collection now and for many years to come.
Here we have one of the variations of the Santos Dumont XL models they released this year in a steel and pink gold configuration that, in my humble opinion, is an absolute stunner.
The stamped guilloche pattern in the centre portion of the rose dial contrasts well with the brushed outer ring and the red minute track. The blue hands also match the signature Cartier crown with its blue spinel cabochon.
One of the biggest reasons I bought this watch was their choice of Arabic numerals in place of the usual Roman ones they use on the regular production Santos models. This is not often seen on Cartier watches and it's an interesting choice that they have opted for this in this iteration.
The watch comes in what's denoted as "XL", with measurements of 46.6mm x 34mm. On wrist, it's anything but. The sizing is XL by vintage standards, with men's circular watches often in the 30-35mm range, but compared to many modern offerings, this is hardly a large watch.
Coupled with the thinness of it, which is due to the 430 MC calibre, this is a timepiece that oozes elegance and manages to be vintage looking yet modern at the same time.
I was never into square shaped watches but when I had the opportunity to try the prototype on, I was swept away by its beauty and had to have it. I am glad to say this piece is in my collection now and for many years to come.