Cartier: The ‘Jeweler of Kings, King of Jewelers’

Cartier as a brand was founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier. The Maison Cartier quickly gained renown for its exquisite jewelry, becoming a favorite among royalty and earning the title “Jeweler of Kings, King of Jewelers” from King Edward VII of England.

One day, Alberto Santos-Dumon one of the earlier pioneers of aviation wanted a watch that is more practical than a pocket watch, easy to keep the time while he was in the air navigating his plane with both his hands. A wealthy Brazilian coffee heir living in Paris, he complained to his friend, Louis Cartier about his problems. Louis Cartier, the grandson of the founder took up the challenge to find a solution to his friend’s problem. He designed a flat wristwatch with a distinctive square bezel and integrated lugs.

Thus, an icon in horology. The watch, presented to Santos- Dumont, is widely considered one of the very first purpose-designed men’s wristwatches and arguably the first pilot’s watch. While women had worn wristwatches as decorative items, and some rudimentary wrist-worn timepieces for military use existed, the Cartier Santos was groundbreaking for its practicality, design, and its intended use by a man in a demanding environment. Alberto Santos-Dumont wore it religiously, popularizing the idea of a man wearing a watch on his wrist.

At the time when round pocket watches were the norm, the strong. clean lines of the square case were radical and modern. The shape provided a clear and easily readable dial. The visible screws on the bezel is perhaps the most distinctive feature of the Santos. The eight screws securing the bezel to the case were a deliberate design choice, inspired (perhaps) by the legs of the Eiffel Tower and the many rivets seen on the facade of the steel structure.

The Santos Dumont line of watches released today play homage to the original design wrist watches invented by Cartier for men, while the Santos De Cartier has a more casual and flexible design that allows the wearer to dress up or down, while still looking unmistakably classy.

Cartier also incorporated many innovative designs and ideas to their lineup as late as 2018 such as the QuickSwitch System, that allows wearers to easily change between straps and the metal bracelets without any tools, and a SmartLink System that allows the wearer to add or remove links from the metal bracelets to adjust its size, again without needing tools.

Why I chose the Santos De Cartier

While I love the Santos Dumont, because of its more ‘true to origin’ design, I wanted something that can be worn in a more casual setting. Santos Dumont is a little too dressy for my taste, and thus I ended up choosing the Santos De Cartier in stainless steel. I specifically chose the medium size as it is often considered the ‘sweet spot’ for my wrist sizes. For my skinny wrist, it wears perfect, not too big and loud and not too small. This gives a nod to the elegant proportions of earlier models.

The Santos de Cartier is more than just a watch; it’s a piece of design history, a story of friendship, and a symbol of the dawn of a new era in both aviation and personal timekeeping.