Cartier Santos-Dumont Watch, ca. 1920
GUEST: Well, this watch was inherited by my husband from his father and from his father before him. It was our understanding when he inherited it that it had been his grandmother's watch, because of the small size. So he gave it to me as, as a present to enjoy and, and wear. It wasn't until sometime later that I came across some old family pictures, and I could see, in this picture here, um, my husband's grandfather wearing the watch, and that's when I realized it was his watch, not his wife.
APPRAISER: What did he do?
GUEST: He was a race car driver, and he, uh, traveled all over the world racing cars, starting in about 1912? He won his first race in the Isle of Man in 1914. So he did a lot of racing and he was an inventor.
APPRAISER: I love this picture right here, looks like he's playing cards with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
GUEST: He is. They were close friends.
APPRAISER: Where did he originally live?
GUEST: He lived in London.
APPRAISER: Anything else you know about the watch? Do you know who made it?
GUEST: We know that it looks like a Cartier, but, um, we've always dismissed that because it doesn't say anything on the face.
APPRAISER: I love this center picture here, because you can clearly see him wearing the watch. And do you know what year he got married?
Because we have a picture of him wearing the watch here, on his wedding day.
GUEST: Right, that was 1927.
APPRAISER: It is an 18-karat-gold watch. It is a men's watch.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Watches of that period of time in the beginning of wristwatches were much smaller than they are today. It is a Cartier.
GUEST: Oh, well. That's good to know.
APPRAISER: Okay? It was manufactured in France. We looked at the mechanism of the movement.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And the movement was signed European Watch and Clock Company.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Who happened to be a private label that Cartier imported watches into the United States with. So I suspect this watch was purchased in
the United States.
GUEST: Really?
APPRAISER: Probably on one of his trips to the States.
GUEST: Oh, that's so interesting.
APPRAISER: Or, we don't know if it was given to him as a gift or not. Now, the design of this watch looks like a, a modern-day Cartier Santos.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: At this period of time, they referred to them as a, uh, a Santos-Dumont.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Named after the Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont in approximately 1904.
GUEST: (whispers) Wow.
APPRAISER: The aviator was very good friends with, uh, Louis Cartier.
GUEST: (whispers) Okay.
APPRAISER: And he complained about using a pocket watch to fly with.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: So he asked Louis Cartier if he would please make him a wristwatch.
GUEST: Ah...
APPRAISER: And here we have an example of that watch. Your watch, by the serial number, we date it about 1920. They started manufacturing
these watches about 1911, and then they have progressed over the years with different mechanisms.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: You mentioned you couldn't find a signature on the face of the watch.
GUEST: No, no.
APPRAISER: There is not one there. I looked real closely with a loupe. It probably, I'm sure it had Cartier on it originally.
GUEST: Oh, you think it did? Okay.
APPRAISER: The face looks like it's been cleaned over the years.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: It is a silver dial that has printing on it.
GUEST: Oh!
APPRAISER: And so that-- it's either faded off completely...
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: ...or it's been reprinted and so it's missing the signature. You have Cartier's serial numbers here.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: There's also French hallmarks on there, which is the eagle's head.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: You have the original winding crown on here, too...
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: ...that has a cabochon sapphire.
GUEST: And what about the fact that it's not signed by Cartier?
APPRAISER: Some collectors, what, that's going to bother them a little bit.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Of course, if they have the option, they would rather have the signature than without the signature.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: But due to the, how early this piece is, I don't feel like it's a deal breaker. Do you have any idea of the value of the watch?
GUEST: No, I don't think so. (laughs) We spoke to somebody in, a while ago, but they said they couldn't authenticate it as Cartier, and then, so they
told me a couple thousand, maybe.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm. Cartier has been making this model for, uh, 100, over 100 years now, so it's a quite popular watch. Bigger is always better
in size when it comes to watches.
GUEST: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: But this was the size of the watches at that period.
GUEST: I like the size.
APPRAISER: Oh, well, it's perf...
GUEST: If it was bigger, my husband would be wearing it.
APPRAISER: There you go.
GUEST: (laughs)
APPRAISER: Your watch today at auction I can say would easily bring between $12,000 to $15,000.
GUEST: (softly): Oh, wow. That's, that's more than I thought. (laughs) That's wonderful, thank you. And one day, I'll, I'll probably hand it down to
my daughter.
$12,000 - $15,000 Auction
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