In 1904, men did not wear watches on their wrists.

In 1904, men did not wear watches on their wrists.

That was considered feminine. Men carried pocket watches. Always.

Then one aviator complained to his friend Louis Cartier over dinner that he couldn’t check the time mid-flight without taking his hands off the controls.

Cartier didn’t pitch a product. He just solved a problem for a friend.

A few months later, he handed Alberto Santos-Dumont a watch on a leather strap. The world’s first men’s wristwatch. Made for one person, as a favour.

Seven years passed. People kept asking where they could get one.

So Cartier finally released it to the public. It sold out.

120 years later, the design is almost identical. Same square case. Same exposed screws. Same Roman numerals. Cartier has barely touched it.

Because you’re not paying for new technology. You’re paying for the original — the watch that turned wristwatches from women’s jewellery into a global standard and started an entire industry.

Most luxury goods sell you a logo. The Santos sells you the actual beginning of something.

This is Heritage Luxury, and we’ll only cover luxury brands with an actual history.

Follow us @heritagesg.luxury if you’re into that.