SIHH 2019: The Santos de Cartier Chronograph and Squelette Noctambule
Line extensions can feel a bit like placeholders while a brand is working on something else, but Cartier has upped the ante with its Santos additions
By Laura McCreddie-Doak
As iconic watches go, the Santos is up there in the pantheon of greats. First launched in 1904 and designed for pilot Alberto Santos-Dumont, it has the dual legacy of being the first purpose-designed wristwatch and the first pilot?s watch.
Last year, Cartier decided to give the this classic an update. It gave it some curves thanks to the bracelet and case integration and introduced its new SmartLink and QuickSwitch concepts. The former refers to a section of links that can be added or removed at home and the latter to the method of switching the strap in its entirety ? concepts which were nearly three years in the making. This year is all about extending the family. There?s the new high-efficiency quartz-powered homage to the original ? the Santos-Dumont ? but the real talking point is going to be the Santos de Cartier Chronograph.
Cartier is relatively new to the in-house chronograph game ? its first was launched in 2013 in the Calibre de Cartier Chronograph. Although the watch was easy on the eye, what everyone was talking about was its power source ? the 1904-CH MC. This is the Carole-Forestier designed column wheel chronograph fitted with vertical coupling and linear zero resetting ? it uses a hammer mechanism to ensure that the chronograph is reset with the ideal amount force however hard o...
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