Cartier is a renowned French jewelry and watch manufacturing company with a long and distinguished history of catering to royalty, including the Spanish, Thai, Belgian and English courts, and numerous celebrities.
Cartier was founded in 1847 in Paris by Louis-Francois Cartier, who took over the jewelry workshop where he had apprenticed. It was however Cartier’s grandsons, Louis, Pierre and Jacques, who established Cartier as a worldwide jewelry power house.
Cartier’s Paris flagship store still stands at its original location on Reu de la Paix. It was there that in 1904 the company produced the “Santos” – a flat wristwatch with a distinctive square bezel – which was Cartier’s very first timepiece. The “Tortue” and “Baignoire” designs were introduced in 1912 and are still in production today. The company’s success led Cartier to branch out, opening stores in London, New York and St. Petersburg.
The 1970s saw the family sell the Cartier brand to Swiss luxury goods conglomerate Richemont SA. Today, Cartier operates under the “Cartier Monde” brand name.
