Perhaps one of the most legendary timepieces ever, the Cartier Santos is the watch collection we must thank for the modern horology industry that we all know and love. Designed in 1904 as the first-ever pilot’s watch and thus the first-ever tool watch, the Cartier Santos has continued to push boundaries ever since it was strapped to the wrist of famous aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont. As the story goes, Alberto asked Louis Cartier for a wristwatch that he could wear while flying as it would be much more practical than using his pocket watch while also trying to control his plane. Evolving through time like most pieces of design, the Cartier Santos collection has been characteristically fluid in its unique ability to encapsulate the aesthetic zeitgeist of whatever era it finds itself in, and the Santos Vendome Ronde collection, which the example we have here hails from, traces its design language back through three collections from Cartier’s collection over the years. To begin with, it features a round case shape that is borrowed from the Cartier Ronde, which was the brand’s first round watch released in 1937. Secondly, the watch also forgoes the traditional extended ‘shoulder lugs’ on the left and right side of the case, like the Cartier Vendôme. It features a single lug at the 6 and 12 o’clock position that holds a bar that connects to the metal bracelet, which then includes a distinctive screwed design that is inspired by the Cartier Santos itself, and so the Santos Vendôme Ronde’s name is born from the trio of inspirations that created this beautiful timepiece and classic piece of Cartier design.

A wonderful fusion of Cartier design elements, the Santos Vendome Ronde is a stunningly well-designed timepiece that has come to encapsulate everything that Cartier offers with its unique construction, distinctive style and heritage-filled design inspiration.