Alberto Santos-Dumont
Brazilian aviation pioneer, 1873–1932
One watch, on one documented occasion. More about Alberto Santos-Dumont
Cartier
Santos de Cartier
39.8 mm · €9,000
1904
In the airParis, and the field at Bagatelle
From 1904; flew the 14-bis on 23 October 1906
Santos-Dumont complained to his friend Louis Cartier that he could not get a pocket watch out while flying an airship. Cartier strapped one to his wrist instead, and the men's wristwatch stopped being a curiosity.
On the wrist: The first Santos, made for him by Louis Cartier
The 1904 commission is Cartier's own account, repeated everywhere; no independent document of the day records it. The 14-bis flight was witnessed and certified by the Aéro-Club de France.
Partly documented· checked September 2026monochrome-watches.comsharpmagazine.comen.wikipedia.org
The watches above are the closest references in the bezelga catalogue, not the pieces that were on the wrist — those are named in each entry. Nothing here implies that Alberto Santos-Dumont endorsed anything, and no photographs of anyone are reproduced: every page on bezelga uses our own drawings of the watches.