Santos Dumont 31.4 China

In Context

At 31.4 mm it is small by current standards, in the range most wristwatches occupied before cases began growing through the 1990s. The case back is closed, so the movement stays out of sight, and the sapphire crystal will resist everything short of deliberate abuse. Rated to 30 m, it is protected against rain and splashes and nothing beyond that.

The movement is hand-wound, so winding it becomes part of the day rather than something the watch does for you. Its 36-hour reserve wants wearing most days; leave it off and it stops. At 21,600 vph the seconds hand advances 6 times a second, the slower and more audible rate of an older design.

W2SA0027 stands on its own in this catalogue — no other reference here shares its base number. It pairs a pink matte dial with a pink gold, stainless steel case. It was a limited edition.

Cartier-branded version of Piaget 430P, an ultra-thin hand-wound mechanical movement. Type: Hand-wound mechanical Shape: Round Functions: Minutes, Hours Technical features: Balance stop Power reserve (in hours): Approx. 43 Frequency (vph): 21,600 Frequency (Hz): 3 Diameter (lines): 9.00 Diameter (mm): 20.5 Number of jewels: 18 Thickness (mm): 2.1 Number of components: 131

6 other watches in the library run the Cartier 430 MC.

Cartier

Ballon Bleu de Cartier 40 Extra Flat Pink Gold / Grey

W6920089 · 40 mm

Cartier

Tortue Extra Thin Pink Gold / Silver

WGTO0002 · 34.6 mm

Cartier

Tortue Extra Flat White Gold / Silver

WGTO0003 · 34.6 mm

Cartier

Santos Dumont 34.6 Pink Gold

W2006951 · 34.6 mm