The carly 20th century was a time of great technological innovation and with it, shifts in designphilosophy. It's no surprise, therefore, that within this context, certain friendships may be the catalyst forunexpected creations, and hence give birth to an icon.

Ihe year is 1904. Aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont laments to his friend, Louis Cartier, about theunreliability and impracticality of using a pocket watch when flying. Cartier designed a fat wristwatchwith a square bezel, inspired by a square pocket watch that Cartier had produced, with a highly legiblcdial design featuring Roman numerals, in an Art Deco style that would go on to define Cartier's style inthe subsequent decades.

When Santos-Dumont became the first person to be flmed in an airplane flight in 1906, the footagecaptured him with a Cartier watch on his wrist. By 1911, Louis Cartier put the watch into serialproduction, making the Santos collection the first marketed men's wristwatch.