Cartier’s boldest yet, the Santos-Dumont, also features a new in-house movement (oh, and the lacquer is back, too).
Over the past dozen years, Cartier cheap has made a habit of releasing eye-catching skeletonized watches. It started with the Santos 100 in 2009, and this year Cartier launched the Santos-Dumont skeleton watch in three metals.
The three Santos-Dumont skeleton models are equipped with Cartier’s new 9629 MC movement, a micro-rotor movement composed of 212 parts, which Cartier said took two years to develop at its La Chaux-de-Fonds factory. become.
The flagship of the new Santos-Dumont Skeleton collection is the yellow gold version, limited to 150 pieces. The case and bezel have a blue lacquer finish, a bit like the lacquer of last year’s Santos-Dumont Limited Edition, and it looks just as good. In addition, Cartier also launched rose gold and stainless steel Santos-Dumont.
Movement aside, to be clear, this is a gigantic aside, the skeletonized Santos-Dumont is familiar: case thicknesses of 31mm and 8mm (“big” in Cartier’s dictionary), bezel with exposed screws, each This model features Cartier’s signature blue cabochon and blued steel hands.
Cartier’s in-house caliber 9629 MC is a beautifully crafted self-winding movement. Most notable is the tiny rotor at 8 o’clock in the shape of the Demoiselle, a series of light aircraft designed by pilot Alberto Santos-Dumont himself (he was a friend of Louis Cartier, who designed the original Santos -Dumont Discount watches for him). No one should miss a little romance with this tiny model airplane soaring above the globe.
Cartier has been working on designing skeleton movements from the ground up since 2009, and it shows. Let’s remember that Cartier only reintroduced the Santos-Dumont in 2019 as a decent entry-level quartz watch.
Four years later, we have Santos-Dumont’s skeletonized micro-rotor – and we’ve all come a long way. The painted gold version won’t set the watch internet on fire like last year’s trio due to its limited nature, but the blue and gold combo is just right (I grew up watching Reggie Miller wear the Indiana Pacers tormenting the Knicks’ yellow and blue jerseys, but I know my Golden State Warriors, Notre Dame, Los Angeles Rams and many others fans will nod). Of course, I could do it without that little model plane (miniature rotor) that circles the globe, but that’s Cartier – blending its historical narrative into its modern brand, sometimes even wrongly.
Every time Cartier makes a hollow copy watches, it is a little different. The structure of the movement is just right for Cartier’s famous shaped watches. Asymetrique is not the same as Cloche, not the same as Chinoise; not at all the same as last year’s Masse Mystérieuse. Of course, it’s a formula. But the magic is in execution.
By the way, this is not the only skeleton design Cartier has made this year. This year’s complex skeleton Cartier pocket watch is a pocket watch that combines a minute repeater, a flying tourbillon and a perpetual calendar. It measures only 35mm. Seeing a beautiful modern pocket watch like this only makes me appreciate the minimalist Santos-Dumont even more.
Base
Brand: Cartier
Model: Santos-Dumont
reference number:
diameter:
thickness:
Case Material: Yellow gold with blue lacquered bezel (limited edition); stainless steel; rose gold hours
Mark:
Water resistance: 30 meters
Strap/Bracelet: Dark blue alligator (yellow gold case); gray and blue alligator (steel); burgundy alligator (rose gold)
sports
Movement: Caliber 9629 MC
Function: hollow out
Diameter: 23.3mm
Thickness: 4.4mm
Power reserve: 44 hours
Winding: automatic
Frequency: 25,200 per hour
Other details: Microrotor movement composed of 212 components
