Cartier Santos 100 Montres

Think of steel and gold and you may well think of white suits with rolled-up sleeves, the Ferrari Testarossa and awful, awful haircuts, but it may well be that the association is a little unfair. As easy as it is to picture a bi-metal watch worn on an incredibly loose bracelet around an over-tanned wrist, shrouded in cigar smoke, perhaps it’s time to give the plain and precious metal combo a second chance—with one small alteration.

You may think that all Cartier watches are all small, rectangular and dressed with Roman numerals, and for the most part you'd be right, but just because that's the rule doesn't mean there aren't exceptions. This is what happens when the famous French jeweller lets its hair down: the Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Central Chronograph.

It’s no secret that Rolex is one of the most faked brands in the world—we’ve all seen those market stalls on holiday peddling numerous shady imitations—but the fake watch market doesn’t stop there, oh no. And not only are fakes not limited to the arena of Rolex, but also not to the £100, DOA monstrosities that stand out a mile off. Modern CNC technology and the growth of aspiration across the globe has incentivised the manufacturers of fake watches to push their attempts further and further. And this is where we are now, with a fake of the Cartier Ballon Bleu de Cartier that you’d be hard-pushed to spot.

What would you do if you inherited a family fortune? Buy yourself a nice manor in the country? A collection of exotic cars, a yacht maybe? That was the rather pleasant position Brazilian Alberto Santos-Dumont found himself in back at the tail end of the 19th century, and he could have spent that money on nice things, but he chose to do something else: he invented the world’s first powered, heavier-than-air flying machine.