The story of Cartier
In the middle of the 19th century, a jeweler apprentice got the opportunity to take over his master’s boutique and workshop. Adolphe Picard was ready to hand over the business to his young and ambitious disciple, who would later on transform and develop the business to what today is perhaps the world’s most prestigious and famous jeweler.
Well, who was this ambitious disciple then?
His name was Louis-François Cartier. The first name might be new knowledge for you but the last name we presume that you have heard of!
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He opened the first boutique in Paris in 1847, located since 1899 at rue de la Paix, which today is one of Cartier’s three Historic Maisons together with the Temples in London and New York.
Louis-François made sure that the company remained a family business for a long time (Cartier was family owned until 1964), he was therefore succeeded by his son Alfred, which in turn was succeeded by his sons Louis, Pierre och Jacques.
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The three grandchildren of Louis-Francois would all establish the brand worldwide, but in particular Louis. He would become responsible for some of the company's most celebrated designs, such as the mystery clocks, fashionable wristwatches and exotic orientalist Art Deco designs, including the colorful "Tutti Frutti" jewels.
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Other pieces including the tank watch, the love bracelet and the ”Free As A Bird” brooch have also reached an iconic status.
Another piece worth mentioning, with a fun trivia, is the Taylor-Burton Diamond. In 1969, the actors Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton bought a 69.42-carat pear shaped diamond from Cartier, and Burton himself was previously an underbidder when Cartier bought the diamond at auction for a record breaking price of $1,050,000.
Apart from watches and jewellery in various collections, Cartier also offers fragrances, leather goods, accessories and fascinating projects such as the ”Artist meets Artisans” at Cartier Hudson Yards, New York, where you can see Beatriz Milhazes theatrical and refined installation: Aquarium.
We can not find enough superlatives about Cartier so we think it would be a nice way to finish this article with a quote from King Edward VII of Great Britain (he issued a royal warrant to Cartier in 1904), when referring to Cartier as:
”the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers”.
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