Cartier - "King of Jewelers and Jeweler of Kings"
When you hear the name Cartier you immediately think of luxury and elegance. With iconic designs and beautiful craftsmanship, Cartier quickly rose to the top. Cartier is a designer name with a great back story that we became instantly interested in and attracted to, and we know you will too!
Originally a family-owned business, Louis-François Cartier founded Cartier in 1847 in the beautiful city of Paris. Eventually, his son Alfred Cartier took over the family business and sent his three sons Louis, Pierre, and Jacques to venture out in the world and spread the word. Their goal being to make the company name internationally recognized, and that they did. Becoming a favorite among the royal circles, Cartier was actually said to be the “King of Jewelers, and Jeweler of Kings” by King Edward VII of England. Not only popular in England, Cartier was also favored by such popular names as Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, Napoleon III of France, and King Carlos I of Portugal.
We have many reasons to be grateful for Cartier, but this one is a biggie. Fun Fact: Cartier was the first jeweler to successfully use platinum in jewelry making! While he was being the Best in the West, Louis Cartier found time to incorporate platinum into his garland pieces.
Cartier was also responsible for making the wristwatch popular. Designed to help his good friend Alberto Santos-Dumont, who had complained that pocket watches and aviation just didn’t mesh, Cartier created the ‘Santos’. Also, Cartier played an essential role with the overall attitude towards the wristwatch. Originally ‘just for men’, Cartier helped spread the attitude that anyone could wear one!
In 1969 the iconic Love bracelet was released. Designed by Aldo Cipullo, these bracelets were inspired by a rather interesting device. The chastity belt. (Yikes). The medieval chastity belt was meant to be locked around the waist of a wife to keep her faithful while the husband was away. But don’t worry, Cipullo’s intentions were pure. While inspiration may have come from the slightly scary belt of shame, the Love bracelet actually is meant to symbolize devotion and love between partners. The bracelet stays locked around the wearer’s wrist until they decide to remove it. This became such a popular accessory that apparently (according to Vogue) New York City’s hospitals keep a Love screw driver in case of emergencies.
Now owned by Richemont, Cartier has definitely burned its way through history. With pieces and collections such as the Mystery Clock, Panthere, Calibre, Tank, and Santos, how could we not fall in Love (see what we did there)? It is no wonder that Cartier is one of two jewelry brands included in the list of top 100 global brands. If you yourself are a Cartier fan, please check out our collection we put together in appreciation!
http://www.store5a.com/collections/cartier
-Lindsay Sherman-