The tiny plane whizzing around on the micro-rotor is the aesthetic focal point. When I first covered this watch before having the chance to go hands-on with it, I thought it looked kind of corny. I love the Santos-Dumont, but because of its design, not due to any historical connection to pilots. While this connection makes for a nice marketing story, I thought the micro-rotor plane might be a bit too on the nose.
But the plane isn’t too big, barely noticeable across a subway car. The rotor is a reference to the Santos-Dumont’s history, originally made by Louis Cartier for the famous aviator of the same name; the plane on the micro-rotor is a model of Santos-Dumont’s famous La Demoiselle plane. According to stories, Santos-Dumont was a bit of an eccentric inventor, the type of guy who’d show up to dinner at a Parisian hotspot in a hot air balloon. In each case, the plane matches the metal, a cohesive part of the design and not too much of a gimmick. The micro-rotor also requires a bit of movement to really take off, meaning it’s not too distracting from the wearing or time-keeping of the Santos-Dumont.