The Cartier Santos-Dumont Lacquered Returns in 3 New Colours

Cartier’s longstanding affair with the intrepid Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont shows no sign of abating. Santos-Dumont’s request to Louis Cartier to create a timepiece that would let him consult the time without taking his hands off the controls resulted in the men’s first wristwatch in 1904. Characterised by sleek geometric lines, Cartier’s Santos-Dumont model has flown in and out of the watchmaking scene before making a definitive landing in 2018. Following the successful 2022 release of the elegant Santos-Dumont lacquered models, Cartier unveils a trilogy of new Santos-Dumont models in precious metal cases with bright and colourful lacquered details.

Anticipating the Art Deco style that originated in France, Louis Cartier’s watch for the Brazilian aviator blended its sleek, streamlined aesthetics with a pragmatic square-shaped case with exposed screws.

Presented in rose gold, yellow gold and platinum cases sharing a diameter of 31.5mm, a length of 43.5mm and an ultra-slim profile of 7.3mm, these compact models are the epitome of a dress watch. Extending from the dial to the case, the coloured lacquer is applied to the bezel with its eight exposed screws and to the case middle in a thin layer that is then hand polished to obtain a smooth surface. Applied within the borders of the case, the lacquer dramatically highlights the sleek, rounded geometry of the bezel and case middle.

In a departure from the more sedate palette of colours chosen for the 2022 models, the new trilogy of Santos-Dumont features lively, almost metallic tones in olive green, peacock blue and taupe. The translucent lacquered dial is also sunray brushed to create the lovely shimmering effect.

The railway-style minutes track, the sword-shaped hour and minute hands and the cabochon set in the beaded crown – ruby for the platinum case, blue sapphire for the yellow and rose gold – are signature Cartier features. However, in a departure from the 2022 editions, the dial does not feature Roman numerals. These have been replaced by stylish Arabic numerals applied to the dial in a metal matching the case colour. Still Art Deco in nature, the size and curves of the numerals echo the rounded contours of the watch.

Beneath the sealed caseback with Alberto Santos-Dumont’s signature is the calibre 430 MC, a Cartier-branded version of Piaget’s ultra-thin, manual-winding 430P calibre for the hours and minutes. With a height of just 2.15mm, the movement runs at a frequency of 21,600vph and has a relatively short power reserve of 38 hours.

Each model is paired with a matching coloured matte alligator strap and closed with an ardillon buckle in the same metal as the case. While the green/platinum version is limited to 200 pieces, the two gold models are limited in production time and will be done in 2024 only. The price of the new Cartier Santos-Dumont Lacquered models will be CHF 21,100 in platinum and CHF 15,000 in gold. For more information, please visit cartier.com.