Sterling Silver Cartier Cocktail Shaker made c1950

In 1847, the French Revolution Era in France, from the humble beginnings and passion for watchmaking, Louis Francois Cartier took over his master’s workshop and continued to thrive in the business, which in the contemporary times is well renowned for its luxury and elegance. This recognition, name, and fame dates to the nineteenth century when its founder Louis Francois Cartier distinguished his piece of work in two ways. First, by being a trend-setter for number stamping the items he produced in his workshop. Second, his skill of elaborate description of jewellery as possessions in his workshop besides watches. These humble beginnings led to the uniqueness of each item designed intricately and thus embarked upon the rise of the “Cartier Era”.

In this period Cartier had started to bloom and client came from all corners of aristocracy. In fact, this helped Cartier fund the store and even outsource the non-timepieces of exceptional quality. This was a steppingstone to his magnificent store at the present location on Rue de la Paix, Paris in 1899. This vicinity left a room for spectacular opulence which emphasized the shift from retailing to designing and manufacturing. In 1899 he handed over to his three sons.

The 20th century (1904-1920) marked the Golden Age for Cartier. For Louis then, “Fancy” was the keyword to define Cartier style in the French jewellery market and traditionally it was passed in lineage to his successors when the expansion was shouldered by Alfred, the son, who oversaw the establishment of stores in New York and London. Further until 1964, the Cartier as a brand remained a family-owned business, when it was sold off as separate stores internationally.  However, in 1972, it was bought by one of the associations who re-established it as one of the leading high-end jewellery brands.

During its period of expansion, Cartier had gained its name for its perfection besides making fancy pieces. As the time passes, the history of Cartier gets yet glorified by the mention of some of the world’s never seen before pieces of art, for example, Tutti Frutti necklace and bracelets for the Maharaja of Patiala, the graceful yet light weighted Belle Époque garland necklace in Platinum for King Edward VI and the ‘big cat’ jewels for the Duchess of Windsor. Such inspirational and revolutionary ideas is what defines Cartier even today with its worldwide operations in more than 200 stores in 125 countries with three Historical Maison’s – Paris, London, and New York.

For the brand’s loyal and royal customers, it has given them a lifestyle itself dwells on its glorified past and teaches its stakeholders the everlasting importance of quality over everything.