WatchAdvice
Cartier Santos-Dumont Hands-on Review
INTRODUCTION: Born from a friendship between Louis Cartier and his pilot pal – Brazlian Aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont – the Cartier Santos was created as a tool to help Alberto tell the time when flying. In the century or so since, Cartier’s Santos has been at the forefront of the brands watch collection, widely loved for its timeless design and icon status. In more recent years, Cartier’s watch department has been hard at work updating and refining their watch offering, collecting heaps of praise along the way. Earlier this year, the brand released a trio (the Santos-Dumont “Le Brésil,” “La Baladeuse,” and “No. 14 Bis” Limited Editions) of Large size limited editions during Watches & Wonders 2020. Each of these three watches feature Cartier’s in-house and hand-wound movement, a 430 MC. They’re also made from a combination of different metals with a dial to match, and were made in different quantities. Each of the trio is named after one of Alberto Santos-Dumont’s famous aircraft, which is featured on the caseback, alongside a corresponding motif engraving. Today, we’re taking a closer look at the No. 14 Bis Limited Edition, named after a biplane designed and built by Alberto Santos-Dumont, which made the first ‘publicly witnessed’ manned powered flight way back in 1906. The 14-Bis was also known as ‘Oiseau de proie’, French for ‘bird of prey’. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: I was blown away by my instantaneous affection for the Santo...
