SJX Watches
Cartier Introduces the Santos-Dumont XL Hand-Wound (with Live Photos)
Conceived by Louis Cartier for Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont – who needed a timepiece he could read while flying – the Santos-Dumont wristwatch has the double distinction of being the first wristwatch designed from the ground up for men, as well as being the first-ever pilot’s wristwatch. Now the 116-year old design has just received its latest update with the unveiling of the hand-wound Santos-Dumont XL. [Update March 23, 2020: Read the review with more photos.] Though the Brazilian pilot got his wristwatch in 1904, it took until 1911 for the design to be sold commercially. For most of the century since, the Santos-Dumont has been part of the Cartier line-up in one way or another, often in gold but occasionally in platinum (one outlier was a special edition in titanium with a skeleton movement). The most recent facelift happened in 2005, which saw the unveiling of a version without a bezel. The new Santos-Dumont XL in all three versions Last year, the latest generation of the Santos-Dumont was unveiled, marking a return to the iconic Santos bezel with screws. For the first time ever, the Santos-Dumont was available in steel as well as two-tone steel and gold, along with the traditional all-gold case. However, the new Santos-Dumont didn’t quite receive unanimous acclaim because it was quartz movement. But now Cartier has finally unveiled what was long expected, the mechanical Santos-Dumont XL. Measuring 46.6 by 33.9 mm and just 7.5 mm in height...