The Story of Cartier Family Business

One of the most known and highly appreciated brands the name of which sounds almost at any glamour party is Cartier. It found its niche in the world of luxury timepieces in 20th century. Today the company holds one of the leading positions in both segments: luxury watches and jewelry. Its products are made of different durable and expensive materials like: titanium; silver; white, rose or yellow gold. Cartier collections of jewelry and timepieces include products enriched with many precious stones which the company have in a wide gamma: diamonds, emeralds, rubies and so on.

The starting point was given by Louis-Francois Cartier. Cartier was highly appreciated for his works. He was a famous jeweler who opened his own store in the capital of France. Later the family business was taken over by his son Alfred. The year was 1899. Alfred Cartier though of opening a store on the most prestigious street in Paris - rue de la Paix. It was a step of strategic importance since the street was the center of elegance and luxury.

After the success of Alfred's store other jewelers followed the same path. Then rue de la Paix the together with the nearby Place Vendome became the center of international jewelry. Soon Alfred entrusted the management of the family business to his three sons. Pierre and Jacques were sent to conquer the world with Cartier jewelry. They soon were able to open new stores in London and New York.

The third son, Louis Cartier was to continue managing the Parisian House. The "Parisian" expansion under Louis Cartier's management was to bring the brand to international fame. In 1902, after opening two new premises in London Cartier become the most famous jewelry brand in the world.

A very important step in the evolution of the brand was made in 1904 when Carter was asked by his friend Alberto-Santos Dumont, who was a famous Brazilian aviator, to make a watch that he could use during flights. With the help of Edmong Jaeger, Cartier created the first man's wristwatch with the help of which the Brazilian aviator could read time while keeping his hands on the plane controls. The watch was named Santos and its production continues today.

In the period of 1920's Cartier together with Edmond Jaeger created a joint company. The goal was to produce movements for Cartier watches. However, Cartier continued using movements from other brands. Today the company's watches can be found with movements from Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet as well as Movado.

A critical point in the history of Cartier came after the death of Louis in 1942. Only in 1972 several investors took over the company. The chief executive officer of the company became Alain Perrin. He was a former antique dealer and under his management the company was able to regain its fame. After creating Le Must and new versions of the famous Santos watch he reestablished Cartier's status of innovative and fashionable watchmaker.

Today Cartier's collections include such names like: Santos, Tank and Pasha. The latter was for the first time designed in 1932 when Pasha of Marrakech asked Louis to create a watch that he could use while taking a swim. The 21st century is the time when Cartier continues to be among the best luxury watch manufacturers in the world.