1980s Cartier Paris Santos-Dumont 18K YG (Ref. 96054) "Extra Plate"

The Cartier name is synonymous with luxury and has been since the brand's inception in 1847. Offering bespoke and unique jewelry to the world’s elite allowed Cartier to grow steadily through the 19th century and eventually introduced new offerings to their clientele.

Cartier’s first timepiece was actually the world's first aviation watch and was introduced in 1904, only a year after the Wright Brothers' famous first flight in 1903. The inspiration for this timepiece came from Louis-Francois Cartier’s close friend Alberto Santos-Dumont, an early Brazilian pioneer in aviation, after becoming frustrated using a pocket watch to time his flights, which during this time were under a minute. The Santos-Dumont hit Cartier's showrooms in 1911 with a Jaeger-LeCoultre movement and introduced the rest of the world to the iconic art deco design that today, remains only slightly changed.

This Carter Santos-Dumont is best known amongst collectors as the "Extra Plate" or "Extra Thin" and is one of the thinnest Cartier watches ever produced and features a total thickness of 4.4mm. This impressive feat is achieved through the utilization of the renowned Piaget Cal. 21 ultra-thin mechanical movement. Though this Cartier Santos-Dumont "Extra Plate" is one of the thinnest watches Cartier ever made, it retains the standard height and width dimensions of the Santos-Dumont in this era. This makes for a perfectly proportioned timepiece, both beautiful and elegant with the added benefit of sliding under the shirt cuff with ease.