Condition Report

Case:
The case is is in good vintage condition. There is some pitting across the case back and some wear to the serial number, although it is still legible.

Crystal:
The glass crystal is in good condition.

Dial:
The dial is in good vintage condition with characteristic spidering effect in the lacquer.

Movement:
The fully-serviced manual-winding calibre by Cartier is in excellent condition.

Bracelet:
Black Cartier leather strap with solid gold Cartier buckle.

Shipping/Returns/Warranty Info

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Please note:
* Due to the vintage or antique nature of many of our watches, they may not keep time as accurately as when new, nor as precisely as quartz or electronic devices.
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Warranty Exclusions:
* Internal or external damage caused by accidents, mishandling, abuse, modifications, or services performed by anyone other than our authorized personnel.
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Cartier

1980's Vintage Yellow Gold Cartier Santos Dumont Ref. 78097

Name: 1980's Vintage Yellow Gold Cartier Santos Dumont Ref. 78097
Brand: Cartier
SKU: G1097
Price: 14500.00 USD
Availability: InStock

$14,500.00 USD

Sale SOLD

Shipping calculated at checkout.

Free insured express delivery worldwide.
No sales tax on USA orders outside California.
Guaranteed 100% genuine and authentic.
Recently fully-serviced. Backed with a 1-year warranty.
5-day inspection period and easy return policy.

The Santos-Dumont occupies a singular place in Cartier history. Created in 1904 by Louis Cartier for his friend Alberto Santos-Dumont, the Brazilian aviator who wanted to read the time while flying, it is one of the earliest wristwatches designed with a practical modern purpose. The straight lines of this Cartier Santos-Dumont Ref. 78097 evoke the original case design of 1916, with the model’s square and straight lugged geometry being one of the clearest expressions of Cartier’s early design language.

Made in 18k yellow gold and measuring approximately 25mm across by 36mm lug to lug, this example has the slim, formal proportions that make vintage Cartier so appealing. It wears like a pleasant little golden nugget on the wrist, quietly luxurious without feeling precious or overdone. The case is elegant rather than imposing, with a crisp bezel, polished gold surface, and thin 6mm profile that presents with the utmost refinement.

The dial is classic Cartier: white with black Roman numerals, a chemin de fer minute track, and blued-steel sword hands. As a 1980s example, it bridges eras in Cartier collecting, sitting after the great vintage hand-wound period and before CPCP, when Cartier would begin revisiting many of its most important historic forms with a more formal, archival lens.

The case is in good vintage condition, with some pitting on case back and wear to the serial number, though it remains legible. The glass crystal is in good condition, and the manual-winding Cartier calibre 78/1 has been fully serviced and is running well. It is presented on a Cartier leather strap with a solid gold Cartier buckle, completing the watch in its most natural configuration: elegant, compact, historically grounded, and unmistakably Cartier.