A eighteen carat gold and stainless steel Cartier Santos Carrée with factory burgundy, or oxblood dial.Perhaps alongside the Tank, the Santos is the most iconic of all Cartier watch designs. Not only is it very distinctive to the eye, but it also carries the title of the first men’s wristwatch ever made. A relationship between the early Brazilian aviator Santos Dumont and Louis Cartier led to the creation of the watch that bore his name. After complaining to Louis Cartier about how difficult it was to check a pocket watch while trying to fly, Cartier came up with a solution for his intrepid Brazilian friend. And so, the Cartier Santos was born. The November 1906 film, which shows Santos’s 21.5 seconds of flight, also features the first wristwatch hard at work!
This watch is powered by the Cartier ETA-made automatic caliber 077 movement. It has the classic design elements: the screw-down crystal frame and the bracelet set with all the screws. The dial is a departure from the classic Cartier: Roman numerals with the hidden signature at the 1 on 10 o’clock, chemin de fer minute track. This model features a rare, plain deep burgundy or oxblood coloured lacquer dial. The conventional sword-blued steel hands make way for solid eighteen carat yellow gold sword hands. The iconic blue sapphire-set winding crown also makes way this time for a ruby. This model features the date window at the three o'clock position. The dial itself has NO crazing to it, as is very common with watches from this period (the enamel that was used on the dial has a tendency to craze). It is a fabulous looking dial.
The watch is presented in excellent original condition, most likely unpolished with strong lines and clean throughout. Of all of the iterations of this model, this more angular, original take on the 1906 icon is, to us, the best. With its name, Carrée, meaning"square" in French. The watch is presented with its original guarantee card and another Cartier warranty card.
A cult classic worn by many icons over the years, this is now becoming the must-have Cartier again, and who doesn’t love it with this dial in the automatic version?
