A Quick Hands-On With The Graceful And Colorful New Cartier Santos-Dumont XL

Cartier’s watches have several signature design features, as we know. There are, to name a few, the distinctive shapes and beautiful crowns, but my favorite are the elongated and stylish Roman numerals. The new Cartier Santos-Dumont XL watches that debuted during Watches and Wonders look like they are a true celebration of those very same numerals. Each version has a distinct case material, which pairs with a corresponding red, green, or blue mineral for the numerals. These watches already looked very attractive on paper, but in person, they really came to life.

The Cartier Santos-Dumont made its first appearance in 1904. At the time, Louis Cartier created it for his Brazilian friend Alberto Santos Dumont (whose name, if you’re wondering, is spelled without a hyphen in Brazil, in contrast to the official name of the watch). Santos Dumont was a pilot and was looking for a watch that he didn’t have to take out of his pocket while flying. That’s why Louis Cartier designed one of the first wristwatches ever made. Or at least that’s how the story goes. So now, with this new iteration of the Santos-Dumont, it seems like celebrations for the 120th anniversary started just a year early. Let’s join the party and see what they look like.

The Santos-Dumont XL

Last year, the designers at Cartier already covered the Santos-Dumont’s case in a beige, red, or black layer of lacquer. To be honest, it took me some time to get used to that look. But after a while, I started to appreciate the way it accentuates the Santos-Dumont’s characteristic case shape. For this year, the designers also picked different materials for the cases, but there’s no layer of lacquer on them this time. The yellow gold, rose gold, and platinum versions do have a polished bezel, a mainly brushed case, and polished bevels, as we are used to seeing by now in the Santos collection.

The case of the Santos-Dumont XL measures 46.6mm from lug to lug and 33.9mm wide. Inside is the hand-wound caliber 430 MC. It’s based on one of Piaget’s movements, and it only measures 2.1mm thick. That’s also why the case of the Santos-Dumont XL is only 7.5mm thick — or rather, thin. The movement runs at 21,600vph, and it has a power reserve of about 36 hours. You’ll have to keep it very close to your ear to find out whether it’s running, though, because there is no central seconds hand. Or you could just forget about winding it, like Andy Warhol, and set it to 10:10 for the rest of your life.

A mix of materials and colors

The Santos-Dumont in 18K yellow gold is adorned with blue details. That means there’s a sapphire cabochon on the typical Cartier crown, and it comes on a very dark blue alligator strap. But most apparent are, of course, the blue dumortierite Roman numerals. I think this is my favorite version of the three because even when wearing the watch, the marble-like texture of the dumortierite is still visible.

Next up is the version in 18K rose gold with green details. This time, both the cabochon on the crown and the Roman numerals on the dial are made out of jade. There’s less of a noticeable texture or pattern to this stone. However, the numerals are a bit more transparent than the previous blue ones. This model comes on a very dark green alligator strap, one that almost looks black from afar.

And, of course, the platinum case is matched with red details. That seems to be the color combination of choice for most platinum Cartier watches. The cabochon is a red ruby, and the Roman numerals are made out of jasper. Again, there’s less of a visible pattern to this stone. Nevertheless, the three-dimensional numerals still look very impressive against the eggshell-colored dial.

A guilloché heart and pomme hands

At the center of all three dials is a guilloché pattern. Rather than engraving the whole dial like this, I think this is the best way to apply this decoration. Otherwise, it would certainly steal attention from the numerals. The designers also chose to go for pomme (apple) hands, which are also sometimes called Breguet hands. I actually thought sword hands were the way to go nowadays at Cartier. Apparently, though, some new models still get these more classic and graceful hands. I do think that they suit the overall style of these Santos-Dumont XL models very well.

The steel hands have a yellow or rose gold finish to match the corresponding cases, and for the platinum version, the hands simply have a high-polished finish. I’m a big fan of Cartier’s blued hands, but I completely understand why the designers opted for a finish that matches the case material for these models.

The Santos-Dumont XL on the wrist

For my 17cm (6.7″) wrist, I feel the large size of the Santos-Dumont works better than this extra-large size. But I could certainly pull the latter off, especially because these watches are so thin. As mentioned, my favorite is the yellow gold one with the blue details. I think that’s mainly because the structure of the dumortierite is so visible. My second choice would be the rose gold and green one. It’s a combination you don’t see very often, but especially with the super dark green strap, it works very well. My least favorite would be the platinum and red one. Then again, maybe that’s also because it’s probably the most expensive, and therefore, the most unreachable one.

And I certainly wouldn’t say no if Cartier made a steel version of it with a much more accessible price. Alas, that’s very unlikely to happen, so I’ll just keep enjoying my steel Santos Galbée on the steel bracelet. But every time I go hands-on with one of the Santos-Dumont watches, it becomes harder and harder to forget about them. I really like the “basic” design on my Santos, but these more extravagant versions of the Santos-Dumont do feel very refined and well made.

Final words

Believe it or not, Cartier hasn’t communicated the prices of these models yet. But if you’d like to get your hands on one of the limited editions (200 pieces of each version will be made), I suggest you contact your local Cartier dealer. Unfortunately, you won’t find any further information on the Cartier website, but you may want to check out other Santos and Santos-Dumont models for good measure.

Please let me know in the comments below what you think of the colorful new iterations of the Cartier Santos-Dumont XL!

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