It just got easier to find some of Cartier’s top Santos watches online. The luxury menswear site Mr Porter, known for its curated selection of tops brands and exclusive items, will debut Cartier’s iconic Santos collection on April 5. The website will present seven Santos timepieces, including one with a black leather strap that will be exclusive to the e-tailer. Infused with a rich history, the Santos launched Cartier’s watch business well over a century ago.
The original Cartier Santos timepiece—the first men’s wristwatch by the French luxury house—was created in 1904 by Louis Cartier for the French-Brazilian aviator, Alberto Santos-Dumont. It was crafted in response to his complaints about the impractical use of pocket watches during flight; he needed to keep his hands on the controls and still be able to check the time. Santos-Dumont wore the watch aboard his 14-Bis kite-like aircraft on November 12, 1906, when he set the first aviation record in Europe (recognized by the Aero-Club de France) for flying some 722 feet in less than 22 seconds. Since then, the Santos has continued to be updated throughout the years and its signature rectangular shape and graphic roman numerals have become instantly recognizable as Cartier.
“The Santos has a masculine and sporty sensibility to its design, which we thought was a great way to introduce the brand to our customers,” said Fiona Firth, Mr Porter’s buying director. “Our customers have been interested in seeing Cartier sold on Mr Porter since we launched in 2011. Cartier has its own unique place in the luxury watch world and it will sit nicely alongside our other brands.”
Mr Porter will be offering Santos timepieces in steel, yellow gold and steel, and pink gold with prices ranging from $6,250 for the exclusive steel version with a black grained leather strap to $37,000 for the pink gold timepiece with a pink gold bracelet. The Cartier Santos collection will go live on Mr Porter at 7 A.M. on April 5. A full range of Cartier watches from various collections will launch later this year.
