Cartier Introduces the Santos-Dumont Extra-Large “Dubai Watch Club”
A collectors’ club based in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai Watch Club recently announced the latest special edition for its members. Based on the largest version of the Cartier wristwatch launched last year, the Santos-Dumont Extra-Large “Dubai Watch Club” is a distinctive new take on the classic design. Featuring a salmon dial inspired by the Santos-Dumont 90th Anniversary limited edition of 1994, the Dubai Watch Club version features Eastern Arabic hour numerals as is tradition for special editions made for the region. Initial thoughts A large but elegant watch, the Santos-Dumont XL is appealing in its original form, albeit looking very much like a classical Cartier. The Dubai Watch Club edition injects novelty into the design without doing too much. In fact, the only changes to the watch are the dial colour and hands, although Breguet hands were historically found on many Cartier models. But the best feature of the dial is the colour of the numerals, which are rendered in a dark red that was meant to mimic Cartier’s house colour. Notably, red numerals were traditionally found only on platinum watches, while the Dubai Watch Club edition is steel. The case material means the special edition is an easily affordable US$7,500, but that’s a moot point as the watch is available only to members of Dubai Watch Club. Dubai style Founded by local collector Adel Al Rahmani, Dubai Watch Club has some 120 members in its ranks. The club has commissioned a handful of speci...
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