Cartier

Considered the king of jewelers by Englands Edward VII, the Cartier company was founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-Franois Cartier where it remained under family control until 1964. Louis was succeeded by his son, Alfred, in 1874. In 1904, Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont happened to mention to told Louis who was still in charge for the company’s Paris branch how difficult it was to use a pocket watch while flying. This inspired Louis to design a flat, easily read wristwatch called the Santos. Louis contracted Swiss-based watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre to supply movements for the companys watches. The Santos was followed by notable pieces such as the 1917 Tank watch. Pierre, Louis-Franois Cartier’s grandson, led Cartier’s global expansion and opened the New York store in 1909. Pierre ran the New York branch until he died in 1972. Investors purchased Cartier Paris, and in 1974 and 1976, bought Cartier London and New York, respectively. They were combined under the name Cartier Monde in 1979. By 2012, ownership of Cartier was held by the Rupert family in South Africa, as well as Pierre’s granddaughter. Cartier has 200 stores in 125 countries. Its products range from fine leather items to watches, fragrances and accessories. It has a base of 65 fragrances. The first, Santos de Cartier, was introduced in 1981. As of 2014, its latest fragrances include La Panthere for women and Declaration L’Eau.