Cartier

Cartier's epic journey to worldwide success

Cartier was born in 1847 from the hands of Louis François Cartier. He actually took over the reins of the jewelry workshop of his apprenticeship master. His work was quickly noticed by Princess Mathilde, cousin of Emperor Napoleon III. Thus, Cartier immediately benefited from the protection of the imperial family and received numerous prestigious commissions as a result. Later, he entrusted the management of the house to his son Alfred, who made the brand prosper until it settled on the prestigious rue de la Paix in Paris, in 1899. It was in the early 1900s that Cartier's international activity developed. Very quickly, the London boutique attracted the attention of the royal family, and Cartier became the official jeweler of the court in 1902. Cartier was by then known to all and traveled the world to find new sources of inspiration. Thus, the house multiplied its innovations in jewelry and watchmaking. Furthermore, a new momentum arrived when Jeanne Toussaint, an emblematic figure of Parisian fashion, took the reins of the house in collaboration with Louis Cartier. In the midst of the movement for women's emancipation, she took on the position of Director of Haute Joaillerie in 1933. The second half of the 1960s then marked Cartier's passing into the hands of an industrialist, Robert Hocq, who ran the house masterfully. The business then developed considerably, expanding into the perfume industry barely two years after the death of Robert Hocq, in 1981.

Cartier's luxurious perfumes

Having become a benchmark of French elegance, Cartier decided to embark on the perfume adventure. All of Cartier's creations, whether in terms of fragrances or packaging, were made in-house. Likewise, Cartier has always had an exclusive perfumer. Currently, this role belongs to the talented Mathilde Laurent. Cartier's very first fragrance was called Must. It was a green oriental combining the power of Galbanum with the sensuality of Jasmine and Vanilla. Nevertheless, Cartier has always made sure to maintain a link between its two areas of activity. Thus, many of the house's perfumes pay tribute to Cartier's emblematic jewelry pieces. For example, the perfume Panthère from 1987 is directly inspired by one of the jeweler's most famous creations. This perfume has, moreover, been revisited and modernized several times over the years. Among Cartier's great classics, some stand out as true best-sellers. This is notably the case for Déclaration, a fresh and assertive spicy woody, l'Eau de Cartier, Cartier's first unisex fragrance, and the more recent Baiser Volé.