There are names that are more than names, more than a reference, they have crossed the threshold of fame and glory to become a symbol, a myth, so that the only name of three brothers of a jeweler’s dynasty, makes the of precious stones shine.
In New York, on October 19, 1998, Sotheby’s auctioned a pair of Cartier earrings, one of which was made of a blue diamond. The pair was sold for 4 million 7 thousand , a record .
This is how the jeweler of kings, queens, maharajahs, stars and tsars has set his legend for a century.
Cartier’s beginnings
This legend really began at the beginning of the century. The creators of this empire are three brothers Louis, Pierre and Jacques.
Louis François Cartier, their grandfather, set up his business in the 1850’s. His clientele included the French aristocracy who bought tea sets and gemstone necklaces. On May 16, 1904, before he died, at the age of 86, he called his three grandsons, Louis, Pierre and Jacques, to his bedside.
His family gathered around him, Louis-François Cartier solemnly swore them in that they would unite and become the world’s first jewelers. Each of the grandsons had grown up in the jewelry business but had no intention of taking over the family tradition.
Jacques, 20, was passionate about travel, Pierre, 26, had his sights set on a career in diplomacy, and the eldest, Louis, 29, was inclined towards the arts. The word given to the grandfather would force them all to change course.
Louis Cartier
The grandfather based his hopes particularly on Louis, his stature, his culture, his open-mindedness already imposing. As a student of history and law, Louis spent entire days at the Louvre, which was to be one of his sources of inspiration. He observed and drew sketches of ideas on paper, and his future commercial success was due first and foremost to his creativity, which was to set him apart from everything that had been done up to that point.
Louis Cartier sought to lighten the forms to allow diamonds to play better with the light he invented a new support “platinum” and that will transform the jewelry. Until then, stones were set on heavy gold or silver frameworks with 24 carats. Platinum, which was used as filaments for light bulbs, will both reinforce and lighten the framework of the pieces and allow for compositions of unprecedented lightness with this new style, the “guirlandes”, which was a revolution, much more than a technical and aesthetic evolution.
The new style will conquer the high society pushing the Cartiers to settle in the heart of Parisian luxury at 13 rue de la paix. The store opened its doors to its first customers on November 1, 1899.
The way of the jeweler had particularly seduced Edward Prince of Wales the future heir to the crown of England.
Pierre Cartier
Jacques was 20 years old and already a formidable negotiator, he set off to the Middle East in search of stones and to bring as many pearls as possible.
The three brothers had managed to build a unique network, three bodies and three minds working under the same name.
Louis never stopped exhibiting and renewing his collections, Jacques settled permanently in London on Bond Street and Pierre opened his doors in New York and Saint Petersburg.
The most beautiful creations of Cartier
- Santos Dumont the aviator while having dinner with Louis one evening, he explains to him the difficulty when he is flying to take out his pocket watch while keeping his hands on the controls. In 1907 when Santos Dumont landed, breaking the world flight record, he wore the watch designed by Louis on his wrist; it was the first wristwatch of modern times.
- In 1908 Louis succeeded in acquiring the Hope Diamond and sold it for $300,000 to Evalyn Walsh Mclean, one of the wealthiest women in the United States.
- The war arrives at June 28, 1914, Pierre and Jacques endorse the military dress in 1918 the house celebrates the armistice and in homage to the decisive role of the first tanks sent to the combat Louis creates a new watch the “Tank”.
- The mysterious clocks, this masterpiece was an invention of Maurice Couet. He was one of the outstanding craftsmen recruited by Louis. The hands of the mysterious clock seemed to rest on nothing their manufacturing secrets resided in invisible crystal disks, a mechanism hidden in the frame of the clock and inspired by the clocks of the famous illusionist and inventor of modern magic Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin. The manufacture of a single clock took 8 to 10 months.
Paris was at that time the heart of the jewelry industry in all of Europe, but Louis Cartier sensed the emergence of a new world made up of these new knights of industry, these new energies that welcomed the century. The clientele was expanding and came to Cartier to find the little gift of Paris. America lives in full economic boom, Pierre Cartier buys a building of 653 of the 5th avenue, and he opens a Cartier store. The tycoons buy from Cartier to confirm their social accession, and this has contributed greatly to the success of Cartier in the United States.
Jeanne Toussaint
Louis met a young woman who, in spite of everything, was to accompany him all his life, a very elegant Parisian woman who would be called liberated today and who became his mistress. Jeanne Toussaint came from a lower social class, and she was 12 years younger than him. They loved each other and worked together. His brothers opposed their marriage: the collective interest of the family before anything else. But Louis kept Jeanne as an artistic collaborator at Cartier.
Jeanne had introduced him to the beginnings of the most important social change of the post-war period: the emancipation of women like Coco Chanel. Louis was one of the first to create a style in line with the times with Jeanne, they invented a range of new objects. Objects designed for women who moved to accompany them throughout the day.
The exhibition of decorative arts
The discovery in 1922 of the tomb of Tutankhamen was to be the occasion of one of his most astonishing collections. Cartier opened up jewelry to new influences (Asian, Egyptian, Persian), new materials, precious stones associated with semi-precious stones, gold of different colors came to merge on the same piece reflecting the rebellious spirit of Cartiers.
In 1925 it was the decorative arts exhibition. Cartier participated with 50 new pieces. Instead of exploding with the other jewelers, he settled in the elegance pavilion with the great couturiers no stands and yet they are everywhere present with creations scattered on mannequins.
The 1925 exhibition had attracted to Paris perhaps the most passionate of all buyers of precious stones: Bhupinder Singh Maharaja of Patiala asked Cartier to renovate the jewels of his crown. The piece restored by the jeweler approaches a thousand carats, it is the largest diamond necklace on the planet.
Cartier adapts
On October 24, 1929, the New York Stock Exchange collapses on Wall Street, and the economic crisis begins.
Louis creates the “S” department Silver metal will allow to manufacture less expensive while keeping the quality and the chic of the house, we will manufacture useful jewelry to multipurpose wear in clips or earrings. In order to reduce prices and increase production, the workshops were redesigned, but the atmosphere remained the same: work at work.
Each of the brothers understood the interest of maintaining close relationships with fashion magazines. This attitude was new at the time and forced Louis to maintain a real partnership with Vogue magazine. In London, Jacques opts for Harper’s Bazaar.
In Hollywood Boulevard, Pierre played on his image to impose his own, and the studio stars who wore his products on the screen ensured their promotion. By wearing the “Tank” watch by Rudolph Valentin in his film “The Sheik” in 1921, a taboo was lifted: jewelry was also aimed at men and a new market opened up.
Big Hollywood stars buy or are offered jewels from Cartier to wear them in their own films:
Gloria Swanson wears her famous crystal rock and her bracelets even in her film Sunset boulevard.
For the second time, the world was tipped over into war and urgent decisions had to be made. On June 14, 1940, Nazi troops set up camp at the Ritz on the Place Vendôme, just a stone’s throw from Cartier. It was feared that the Nazis would get their hands on the 10 million dollar stock of jewels, which would be secretly shipped to England.
Cartier after the brothers
On September 10, 1941, the company went into mourning for the first time with the announcement of Jacques’ death at age 57.
Ten months later, on July 23, 1942, Louis died of a heart attack during a business meeting in a large New York hotel. Despite the war, Jeanne Toussaint succeeded in having his body repatriated to France. August 1944 Paris was liberated and welcomed General de Gaulle. The bird freed from its cage is now displayed in the windows of Cartier.
Pierre decided to return to Paris and take over from his brother. At the age of 70, he decided to retire to Geneva. His succession was settled: Jacques’ son, Jean-Jacques, would take over London Claude, the son of Louis and the beautiful Hungarian countess, would manage New York. Paris went to Marion, his own daughter. Pierre Cartier thought his succession was assured, but he neglected to swear the oath as his grandfather had done. Suddenly he had three different ways of doing things and none of them agreed with the others. Marion, the owner of the Rue de la Paix, had other ambitions, and the management of the store rested on the shoulders of Jeanne. She went to Cartier every morning almost until her death, it was her life and her taste had become the taste Cartier, his main customers belonged to the circle of his former relations, among them the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the ex-king of England had divorced and left the throne. and he was still in love with the Duchess, he never ceased to give her new gifts. The duke was a customer of the house for 40 years and for the 50 years of his wife, he covers the duchess of jewels to seal their love, he makes compose a crown with their initials, in 1948 the duke offers to the duchess of a panther that becomes the secret emblem of the house. In onyx and diamonds the panther will be transformed into necklace, bracelets and earrings.
Jeanne offers to the Mexican star Maria Felix a diamond necklace as flexible as a real snake. An impressive piece by its size, its weight and its flexibility. It is a masterpiece of technique.
The 60s Cartier decides to get closer to the spirit of the day by launching a new range challenging the classic forms. Pop stars and rock stars, such as the Beatles rushed to Cartier, even Elton John sang his passion for Cartier.
In 1962 Pierre is decided in New York, the son Claude decides to sell the store. Mario also resells the store in the rue de la paix. For the heirs to take up such a torch and assume its obligations was impossible. The secret of Cartier’s success was that the three brothers with three different minds three different ways had the same dream, to be the best. The Cartier family is replaced by new owners, in New York it addresses to a new clientele.
In the United States, the new owners create products that allow the new post-war generation to assert its success, the love bracelet signed Cartier makes its appearance: the bracelet consisted of two separate pieces to wear it two people were needed.
Until the 70s and 80s, the brand continued to grow, but each of its poles worked separately. Robert Hocq and Alain Perrin then bought Paris, New York and London, thus reconstituting the sacred union. The new Cartier house innovated, this new range aimed at the wealthiest fringe of the middle class. With the new owners we find the wonderful feeling of a family working together again. Prince of the silent film or stars of the speaking cinema king and queen of heart serene highness tsar maharajah or pop star to all, the brothers district have imposed their claw and this part of dream and mystery.
