loading...
"King of jewelers and jeweler of Kings"
Louis-François Cartier founded his company in 1847 and quickly became known for originality and taste and was supported by a distinguished aristocratic clientele.
In 1898, under the guidance of Alfred Cartier, the firm moved to the prestigious address of 13 rue de la Paix, next door to the premises of the famous couturiers, Jean-Philippe and Gaston Worth. The two families started a profitable partnership, in which clothing and jewels where designed to be suited in harmony.
When Alfred's three sons – Louis, Pierre and Jacques – took the reins of the family company, they focused on the expansion of the business abroad. In 1902 a branch was opened in London, followed by one in New York in 1909.
At about the same time, a new kind of platinum jewelry in the fashionable Louis XVI or Garland style was introduced. Wreaths, bows, garlands and swirls were leitmotifs of this style, which so perfectly expressed the elegance of the Belle Époque. Gold garlands are still the feature on their contemporary jewelry boxes.
The First World War put an end to this epoch, but Louis Cartier foresaw how different women would be after the conflict, and began designing jewelry in a new way which would better suit the dynamic look of the 1920s. The close cooperation between Louis and his brilliant designer, Charles Jacqueau, ensured the highest level of inspiration in the style, which later would have known as Art-Déco. They investigated the Egyptian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Islamic civilizations in order to find sources of inspiration. They also created a division specialized in watchmaking, held by famous watchmakers such as Maurice Coüet and Edmond Jaeger (later co-founder of Jaeger-le-Coultre). Another division was responsible for the creation of objets d'art.
In 1933 the responsibility for the high jewelry department were given to Jeanne Toussaint. Extraordinarily talented, Toussaint injected a new, figurative fantasy into high jewels, bringing back the craze for yellow gold. At the end of 1940s Peter Lemarchand emerged as the designer of the new generation. He shared a particular love for animals with Jeanne Toussaint, which resulted in the creation of Cartier's "Great Cats" collection.
Today Cartier belongs to the Richemont Group and still offers many iconic models such as the Thank Watch of 1919 and the Great Cat collection. Since 1997, antiques and vintage pieces may also be found at Cartier boutiques; the Tradition department has been created in response to the growing demand for exceptional objects which are also timeless and unreproducible.