Marcus Hanke
[PuristSPro Moderator]
11591
Personally, I am not so sure that Santos really boosted the wristwatch ....
.... since I assume that he did not wear this watch when being handed over from one distinguished salon and evening society to the next. Most certainly, he wore a conventional pocket watch then. Newspaper photography was an innovation not widespread, since it increased printing costs, so most pictures printed were still of the drawn/cut type, which barely showed small details as a watch. To prove my point, just execute a Google picture search for Santos Dumont: Not a single picture of him shows a watch. Most pictures depict him in a formal suit, with which a pocket watch was the standard accessory. The few pictures portraying him in his leather pilot outfit do not show any watch at all. Therefore, I do not think that Santos Dumont played any crucial role in paving the road to the wristwatch's success. I rather believe that it was Cartier's public relation that emphasized this story much, much later.
Regards,
Marcus
Santos Dumont role in the history of watchmaking
Some people, especially in Brazil, think Santos Dumont co-invented the wristwatch with Louis Cartier. We know it’s not true, but according to Paul Hoffman, author of Wings of Madness – AFAIK the most comprehensive biography of Santos Dumont – he “…may hav...
Some thoughts
Hi Marcelo, Interesting question. It is probably a little inaccurate to characterise Santos Dumont as the first civilian wristwatch wearer. Ladies did wear wristwatches in the late 19th century, both Patek and GP boast of having made wristwatches in that ...
Thanks for the reply, SJX!
Nice insights, especially on the WWI. In fact Paul Hoffman says exactly what you did about ladies wearing wristwatches in the late 19 th century and that the militaries were the first men to wear them. According to Hoffman the German commanders used them ...
Personally, I am not so sure that Santos really boosted the wristwatch ....
.... since I assume that he did not wear this watch when being handed over from one distinguished salon and evening society to the next. Most certainly, he wore a conventional pocket watch then. Newspaper photography was an innovation not widespread, sinc...
Makes a lot of sense, Marcus.
You raised interesting points, like the pictures, that really do not portray Santos Dumont wearing a wristwatch. Thank you! Marcelo
I sincerely hope I did not kill a discussion that has potential ....
... since for me, the connection between Cartier and THE first pilot watch is still not known well enough with the majority of people interested in watches. Regards, Marcus This message has been edited by Marcus Hanke on 2010-06-07 23:33:06
Excellent point
Both World Wars probably did more for the upcomming of the wristwatch then Santos Dumont, but like you already pointed out I think that the fact that Santos Dumont wore a wristwatch in itself is the most significant fact. That makes the Santos indeed the ...
I disagree
I do not disagree with your conclusion, which is plausible, but rather with the reasons. I do not know Santos Dumont well enough, perhaps the biography Marcelo mentions would indicate, to say for certain if he wore his wristwatch on the ground. Because it...
Some facts about Cartier and early wristwatches
Hi Marcelo, As I wrote in my earlier post, wristwatches in the late 19th century were predominantly for ladies as jewellery, rather than functional objects. The first ever Cartier wristwatch dates to 1888 and it was a ladies' watch on a bracelet. Santos D...
And an additional interesting point of information...
The Santos Dumont was the first wristwatch with integrated lugs. Other early wristwatches were often pocket watches with wire lugs soldered on or in some sort of leather wrist bracelet as below. Credit: National Maritime Museum, UK Thanks for Mehdi Sqalli...
Sorry for not commenting your post before, SJX...
And thanks for bringing info directly from Cartier. Nice to have the confirmation that Santos Dumont’s watch was the first made for a civilian user. I want to thank you and the others who replied, helping to make this post and Editor’s Pick. R...
Three Santos Dumont models to illustrate the topic
Over the years there have been quite a few variations of the Santos Dumont watch. An IMHO stunning version was the platinum model, from 1997, with salmon dial and Breguet hands, created in a limited edition of 90 pieces, for the 90th anniversary of the Sa...
Great comparison Geo
and here are some photos of the Santos Dumont skeleton. - SJX...
Nice illustration, Geo.
I'm not a fan of big watches, but the pink gold is really beautiful. Marcelo
Hi Marcello
These models here are pretty small. The current Santos Dumont here pictured in the middle, in pink gold is 44.5 x 35.9 and the Santos Dumont Squelette, SJX posted is about that same size. GEO
I meant it was big compared to the other pictured over the scale, Geo.
But I think 44.5 x 35.9 would feel quite right on my wrist Regards, Mar celo