Cartier International SNC, or simply Cartier (/ˈkɑːrtieɪ/KAR-tee-ay, French:[kaʁtje]), is a French luxury-goods conglomerate that designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells jewellery, leather goods, watches, sunglasses and eyeglasses.[2][3][4] Founded by Louis-François Cartier (1819–1904) in Paris in 1847, the company remained under family control until 1964.[4] The company is headquartered in Paris and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont Group.[5][6] Cartier operates more than 200 stores in 125 countries, with three Temples (Historical Maisons) in Paris, London, and New York City.[6][7]
Cartier is regarded as one of the most prestigious jewellery manufacturers.[4][8][9][10][11][12]Forbes ranked Cartier on its Most Valuable Brands list as 56th in 2020, with a brand value of $12.2 B and revenue of $6.2 B.[1][13]
Cartier has a long history of sales to royalty.[14]King Edward VII referred to Cartier as "the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers".[4][15] For his coronation in 1902, Edward VII ordered 27 tiaras and issued a royal warrant to Cartier in 1904.[4][16] Similar warrants soon followed from the courts of Spain, Portugal, Serbia, Russia and the House of Orléans. The largest ever single order to date was made in 1925 by the Indian royalty, the Maharaja of Patiala, for the Patiala Necklace and other jewelry worth ₹1,000 million (equivalent to ₹210 billion, US$2.6 billion or €2.6 billion in 2023).[17]
Louis-François Cartier founded Cartier in Paris in 1847 when he took over the workshop of his master, Adolphe Picard.[18] In 1874, Louis-François' son Alfred Cartier took over the company, but it was Alfred's sons Louis, Pierre, and Jacques who established the brand name worldwide.[18]
William A. Craddock – (22 June 1991 – 31 October 1997).
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Christopher H. B. Honeyborne – (22 June 1991 – 31 October 1997).
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Pierre Haquet – (22 June 1991 – 8 April 1993).
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Phillipe Leopold-Metzger – (22 June 1991 – 4 June 1992).
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1911 – Launch of Santos de Cartier wristwatch.
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1918 – Creation of batons for Field-Marshals Foch and Pétain.
1919 – Launch of the Tank watch.
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1921 – Creation of the Tank cintrée watch.
1922 – Creation of the Tank Louis Cartier and Tank Chinoise watches.
1923 – Creation of the first portico mystery clock, crowned with a statuette called Billiken.
1926 – Creation of the Baguette watch. Cartier jewellery in its red box appeared on the Broadway stage in Anita Loos' play Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
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1928 – Creation of the Tortue single push-piece chronograph watch.
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1929 – Creation of the Tank à guichets watch.
1931 – Creation of the mystery pocket watch.
1932 – Creation of the Tank basculante watch.
1933 – Cartier filed a patent for the "invisible mount", a stone-setting technique in which the metal of the mount disappears to show only the stones.
1936 – Creation of the Tank asymétrique watch.
1942 – Creation of the "Caged Bird" brooch as a symbol of the Occupation.
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1944 – Cartier created the "Freed Bird" to celebrate the Liberation of France.
1950 – Creation of a watch in the form of a ship's wheel.
1967 – Creation of new watches in London including the Crash.
1968 – Creation of the Maxi Oval watch.
1969 – Creation of the Love bracelet.
Cartier Santos – steel/gold from 1988
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1969 First inclusion of a Cartier Chronometer in a
Luxury Car
1971 – Creation of the Juste un Clou bracelet at Cartier New York.
1973 – Creation of Les Must de Cartier by Robert Hocq with Alain-Dominique Perrin.
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1974 – Launch of the first leather collection in burgundy.
1976 – First collection of Les Must de Cartier vermeil watches. Creation of the first oval pen.
1978 – Creation of the Santos de Cartier watch with a gold and steel bracelet. Creation of the first Cartier scarf collection.
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1981 – Launch of the Must de Cartier and Santos de Cartier perfumes.
1982 – Launch of the first New Jewellery collection on the theme of gold and stones.
1983 – Creation of the Collection Ancienne Cartier (later the Cartier Collection) to record and illustrate how the jeweller's art and its history have evolved. Creation of the Panthère de Cartier watch.
1984 – Launch of the second New Jewellery collection on the theme of gold and pearls. Creation of the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain in .
Jouy-en-Josas
1985 – Launch of the Pasha de Cartier watch.
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1986 – Launch of the third New Jewellery collection on the theme of the panther.
1987 – Launch of the Panthère de Cartier perfume. Creation of Les Maisons de Cartier tableware (porcelain, crystal and silver).
1988 – Launch of the fourth New Jewellery collection on the theme of Egypt.
1989 – Launch of the Tank Américaine watch. The Art of Cartier, the first major retrospective in Paris, was held at the .
Petit Palais
1995 – Creation of the Pasha C watch in steel. Launch of the So Pretty de Cartier perfume.
1996 – Creation of the Tank Française watch collection. Launch of the sixth New Jewellery collection on the theme of Creation. Creation of the Tank ring.
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1997 – Cartier celebrated its 150th anniversary with creations including a necklace in the form of a serpent, paved with diamonds and set with two pear-cut emeralds of 205 and 206 carats (41.2 g).
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1998 – Creation of the Collection Privée Cartier Paris Fine Watch collection.
1999 – Creation of the Paris Nouvelle Vague Cartier jewellery collection, inspired by Paris.
2001 – Creation of the Délices de Cartier jewellery collection. Launch of the Roadster watch.
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2003 – Launch of the Le Baiser du Dragon and Les Délices de Goa jewellery collections.
Cox, Caroline (2014) [2013]. "1847: Cartier". Le luxe en héritage: Secrets d'ateliers des grandes maisons (in French). with preface by Cameron Silver. Paris: . pp. 86–91. ISBN978-2-10-070551-1.
