The Cartier Santos Dumont watch.

The Cartier Santos Dumont watch, originally made in 1906 by Louis Cartier, was the rst ever wristwatch created for men. It is named after a famous Brazilian aviation pioneer, Alberto Santos-Dumont, a dear friend of Louis Cartier. It all started in 1904 when Mr. Santos-Dumont made a complaint to his friend about how pocket watches were inaccurate and impractical to use when ying. He eventually convinced his jeweler friend, Mr. Cartier, to create a wristwatch that would be more practical for him and so Mr. Cartier obliged and created a at wristwatch with a square bezel before giving it to his friend, Mr. Santos-Dumont. Eventually, Cartier begun selling the watch to other customers after signing a contract with Edmond Jaeger, another famous watchmaker, who would supply the movements for Cartier. The watch sold to customers was named the Cartier “Santos”. Nowadays, the Santos is one of Cartier’s most best selling watch in the world and is renowned for its elegant and timeless design. The Santos “Dumont” is still sold and produced as of today by Cartier. It is a statement in the watchmaking industry, when someone wears a Cartier Santos they have exquisite taste. Cartier even produced an anniversary edition of the watch for its 100th birthday in 2004, the Santos 100. The Santos was the rst ever wristwatch produced by Cartier, at the time it was produced Cartier was a jewelry house and not a watchmaker which is why he partnered up with Edward Jaeger for the watches’ movements.

(Image from Drouot.com)