Cartier begins with a single apprentice. In 1847, Louis-François Cartier took over his master's jewellery workshop in Paris and put his own name over the door. What followed was less a shop than a slow-building institution - one that would go on to dress the wrists and necks of monarchs, aviators and film stars across three continents.
The maison's reputation was sealed at the top. When the future King Edward VII prepared for his 1902 coronation, he ordered 27 tiaras from Cartier and later granted it a royal warrant. He is credited with the line that still trails the brand: "the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers." It was, in effect, a customer naming the category.
The firm's global reach was a family project. Louis-François's three grandsons split the map between them - Louis in Paris, Jacques in London, Pierre in New York - and built an international house on trains, telegrams and a shared surname.
Cartier's second act was design. The Santos of 1904, made so aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont could read the time without letting go of his controls, is widely counted among the first purpose-built wristwatches. The Tank followed in 1917, its rectangular case reportedly inspired by the armoured vehicles of the First World War. Decades later, the Love bracelet (1969) and Juste un Clou turned a screw and a nail into objects people queue for.
"The jeweller of kings, and the king of jewellers."— attributed to King Edward VII
Today Cartier is the flagship maison of Switzerland's Richemont group, which acquired it in 1988. It sits at the centre of the group's jewellery division - the largest and most profitable part of the business - and operates more than 200 boutiques in roughly 125 countries.
