![]() Louis Cartier listened and Eureka! – an idea was born, which was to become the Santos-Dumont wristwatch – the first pilot watch. He needed to keep his hands on the plane’s controls, but instead kept having to fumble for the pocket watch. “A Votre Santé!” Maybe it was between toasts of champagne that Alberto complained to his friend Louis Cartier about the difficulty of checking his pocket watch while flying. After the day’s exploits, and the hero holding court amidst a jubilant crowd, it was time to unwind. Concerning the first Pilot Watch, there is no controversy.Īfter achieving flight and collecting the Deutsch-Archdeacon Price, Alberto proceeded to celebrate royally at Maxim’s restaurant in Paris. Did the Wrights create only a flying machine with Alberto making the first fixed-wing aircraft? Ernest Archdeacon sums up European sentiment with his question, “Are the Wrights flyers or liars?” In Europe, names like Clement Ader, Blériot and the wealthy eccentric, Alberto Santos-Dumont, were synonymous with aviation, and Europe was where horology followed flight. Herein lies the point of contention between the continents. The Wright Brothers used a rail and later a catapult system for takeoff. In 1906, Brazilian-Franco Alberto Santos-Dumont’s ’14 bis’ flew equipped with wheels, enabling him to takeoff under his own power as specified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, which since its 1905 inception, existed to verify aviation records. These inventive bicycle mechanics also created the three axis controls of yaw, pitch and roll, which allowed the pilot to maneuver his craft. Let it suffice that the Wright Brothers’ Flyer I flew earlier (1903), achieving the first sustained heavier-than-air flight under power. I have never been one for arm wrestling, caber tosses or other assorted pissing contests, so I will refrain from entering the dispute between the Wright Brothers and Alberto Santos-Dumont about who is first. The 235 yards were traversed in twenty-one seconds.” The experiment, however was a triumph for actual flight was achieved and it seems as though it were only a matter of time for the conquest of the air to be accomplished. Santos Dumont, startled by some spectators in his way, twisted his rudder quickly, and the machine came heavily to the ground, damaging one of its wings. For thirty yards the motor ran along the ground, then suddenly it rose to a height of about five yards, and appearing like a great white bird, it soared half-way down the course. ![]() Santos Dumont after several preliminary trail in Paris on November 12th, when his flying machine had flown 75, 128, and 142 yards, decided to return to his starting point by going against the wind. ![]() The watch is a tribute to a fearless age when determination knew no bounds.Īrticle’s Text: “ M. In the midst of all this attention, a novel wristwatch by Cartier appeared, and the world took notice. In a time when men risked their lives to soar into the air, the world held its breath and watched. It’s the first article in a series of five and we’re going to start with an unusual suspect… When it comes to the essential criteria for a pilot’s watch, like functionality and readability, Cartier’s Santos seems an odd fit except in one unassailable category: originality.Ī Santos owner is a distinguished client who may well epitomize a certain daring that accompanied Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. Today we’re going to look at the history of the pilot’s watch.
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