Trying Not To Get Confused Or Frustrated By The Platinum Cartier Santos-Dumont Rewind (2024)

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Have you heard of people wearing watches without winding and/or setting them correctly? I have. And to a point, I get why they can’t be bothered to make sure the mechanical watches on their wrists display the time correctly more than twice a day. The correct time is everywhere — on your phone, in your car, on your laptop, and so on. There’s no practical necessity to have a watch keeping track of time these days. But a watch can still be a great accessory, a style statement, and an expression of personal taste. So, was the Cartier Santos-Dumont Rewind made for people who don’t care about having the correct time on their wrists?

Well, I wouldn’t assume that all buyers fit that description, but some of them might. The Cartier Santos-Dumont Rewind (WGSA0102) is a US$38,400 platinum watch in a limited run of 200 pieces. You can look at this Cartier creation that debuted during this year’s Watches and Wonders in two ways — as a collectible, rare timepiece with an interesting movement inside (through the eyes of the watch fan) or as a decorative object (through the eyes of the well-to-do fan of style and design).

The Cartier Santos-Dumont Rewind through the eyes of the watch fan

At first glance, there seems to be nothing “wrong” with the Cartier Santos-Dumont Rewind. On the contrary, the brushed and polished case is delightfully sized at 31.4mm wide, 43.5mm long, and 7.3mm thick. It is water resistant to 3 ATM, and the red ruby cabochon in the crown means it’s platinum. The watch comes on a prominent burgundy-brown alligator strap with a platinum folding clasp. And then there’s the dial. The shade of the lacquer on it varies quite a bit depending on how light hits it. It shifts between orange and brownish red, and sometimes even shades of black appear. On the dial, you will find a railway minute track and Cartier’s typical Roman numerals. On this watch, however, those numerals are applied and read counterclockwise. Furthermore, the pomme hands, which received a rhodium finish and a contemporary style update, also turn counterclockwise.

When a watch runs counterclockwise, the movement can’t be normal. Yes, this one started as a standard Piaget 430-based caliber 430 MC, but after a thorough reworking, the Cartier caliber 230 MC was the result. When fully wound, it will run in reverse for 38 hours. You can’t see how it works, though, because the watch has an all-platinum case back. And if you’re wondering if this is the first-ever Cartier that runs backward, it isn’t. There is a one-of-a-kind platinum Cartier Tonneau that runs in reverse. It was made for Hiroshi Sugimoto, a multidisciplinary artist, who works with photography, sculpture, installation, and architecture, and is a close friend of the Maison. Daan also mentioned this reverse-running Santos Galbée in his introduction article for this watch.

The counterclockwise Cartier on the wrist

As I said earlier, at first glance, there seems to be nothing “wrong” with the Cartier Santos-Dumont Rewind. Even after putting it on the wrist, you don’t immediately feel you’re wearing an odd creation. First of all, its colorway is rich and luscious, and the platinum case gives you that luxurious heavy sensation. And because the watch doesn’t display the seconds, you don’t immediately notice it’s running in reverse. You only become aware of the watch’s oddity when looking more closely at the Roman numerals. And then what? Well, then you don’t have a clue what time it is. I’ll compare it to reading time on a watch with a 24-hour display — for example, the Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute. But I imagine reading the time in reverse is harder than figuring out a 24-hour dial.

It will take time to adjust to it. Looking at the dial by using the selfie camera mode on your phone is a very impractical solution. There’s no other option than to get yourself used to looking at the time in reverse. That could work if this is your only watch, but a platinum Cartier probably isn’t that for anyone. With that in mind, I don’t think many of this watch’s 200 potential owners will ever be able to tell the time instantly. If you ever see one in the wild, approach the person wearing it and politely ask for the time. I desperately want to know what happens next.

The Cartier Santos-Dumont Rewind through the eyes of the stylish design fan

Pondering the practicality of the Cartier Santos-Dumont Rewind brings me to people who wear a watch without setting it. Among those could be quite a few of the 200 buyers of this new Rewind. Out of frustration, some may even no longer wind or set the watch, thus falling into the category of people who wear their watches in an ornamental fashion (if they ever take this frustrating watch out of the box again, that is). The colorway and design of the Santos-Dumont Rewind are powerful yet delicate. The dial’s deep brownish-red hue sure has jewel-like qualities. It also says something about the person wearing this watch — it is a platinum Cartier, after all.

Still, using a watch that runs backward purely as a piece of motionless jewelry feels like a waste. It shows that we live in a world where the standard practice of winding and setting a watch to the correct time is under pressure due to modern technology and the convenience of having so many accurate digital devices around. For ornamental watch wearers, the watch as a timekeeping companion has become a relic of the past. Or maybe they want to be like pop-art painter Andy Warhol, who famously wore a Cartier Tank he never set.

Do as Andy did

What is certain is that the time I got to spend with the Cartier Santos-Dumont Rewind was far too short to get used to it as a watch. I liked it as an object, but I couldn’t judge it as a watch because I couldn’t tell the time. And I can’t bring myself to judge a watch as a piece of jewelry either because, no matter what, it is a watch first and foremost. If only I were a bit more like Andy Warhol…

What are your thoughts on this backward-running Santos-Dumont? How would you treat it if you got one of the 200 pieces? Let me know in the comments. Also, the watch is not available on the brand’s website, so contact your nearest Cartier boutique if you want one.

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