The other day we joined our friend and watchlifestyler Olivier for lunch. As usual, he surprised us with one of his daily beaters. This time, a Cartier Santos 100 Flying Tourbillon ref. W2020017. Yes, a true daily beater as you can appreciate on the macro pictures around the bezel.
In most people's minds, a tourbillon is a delicate watch that reflects elegance and should only be worn under the cuff of a bespoke shirt. However, the Cartier Santos 100 Flying Tourbillon is a massive top heavy tank that can be worn with anything —dressed up or down. This time our friend Olivier was wearing jeans and his favorite Bengal striped button down shirt.
The Cartier Santos 100 Flying Tourbillon Limited Edition watch comes with an extra large case measuring 46.5mm x 54.9mm x 16.5mm in 18K white gold and it's fitted with a rather small round sapphire crystal on the display case back. This watch is a serious complication in every sense of the word.
After perusing and wearing this watch throughout a three-hour lunch break, we can only conclude that this timepiece is a serious work of art from the dial to the flying tourbillon and everything in between.
The dial is openworked and composed of two layers. The first layer has roman numerals that have been cutout and the second layer is a slate grey galvanic guilloché plate. The tourbillon comes with a Cartier 'C' cage that rotates 60 turns every minute indicating the seconds. Rather than being supported by a bridge, or cock, at both the top and bottom, a flying tourbillon is cantilevered, being only supported from one side.
The watch comes with a black alligator strap and a 18K gold double-deployant buckle. After wearing the watch for a few hours we can tell that while it's very heavy due to the precious metal that it's made of, it is very comfortable.
The beating heart inside this beauty is the manual winding calibre 9452 MC with flying tourbillon. Each movement is individually marked with the Geneva seal and individually numbered on the main bridge plate.
Sticker price $126,000. For more info click here.
Enjoy the video at the bottom to see it in action.
