Cartier began in 1847, when Louis-François Cartier purchased the small Parisian store owned by his mentor, Adolphe Picard. The house has since grown into a multinational luxury brand with 270 boutiques worldwide, known first for jewellery and watches, then for perfume, and most recently for its own collection of luxury handbags.
Who founded Cartier?
Adolphe Picard ran the original Parisian store, and Louis-François Cartier was his mentee. In 1847, Cartier bought the business, the moment the brand treats as its beginning. From that single address, the company grew into a multinational luxury accessory and leather goods house with 270 boutiques worldwide. The roots are retail: a small shop in Paris, run by a man who learned the trade under the previous owner before taking it over.
What is Cartier known for?
Jewellery and watches made the name first, and those categories still define the house for most collectors today. The brand may be best known for those divisions, but it has also seen success in perfumes, and it has recently started exploring leather goods. With 270 boutiques worldwide, Cartier takes its name directly to customers across the globe, and each category feeds the prestige of the others.
What does "Never imitate, always innovate" mean for the house?
Louis-François Cartier lived by that motto, and it remains the driving force behind the brand and every venture it takes on. The line doubles as a product brief: pieces like the Love bracelet were designed to be unlike anything else on the market at the time. For a house that has expanded from one Paris store into jewellery, watches, perfume and handbags, the motto is the thread that holds the whole story together.
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Why is the Love bracelet Cartier's most famous design?
The Love bracelet arrived in 1969, crafted by Italian jewellery designer Aldo Cipullo for the French jewellery house in its New York workshop. It was conceived as the modern-day cuff, inspired by a medieval chastity belt, and it represented being locked into love. Cipullo explained the idea this way: "What modern people want are love symbols that look semi-permanent, or, at least, require a trick to remove. After all, love symbols should suggest an everlasting quality."
More than five decades later, the design remains a fixture of the Cartier collection and one of the house's most recognizable pieces. That semi-permanent quality is the whole point: it is jewellery you put on and leave on, which is exactly what Cipullo set out to create.
Which cultural moment turned the Love bracelet into a phenomenon?
Teenage Kylie Jenner, in her King Kylie era, was spotted stacking Love bracelets, and Twitter exploded with a line that stuck: the price of a college education on one arm. The moment turned a 1969 design into a generation's status symbol, and stacking has been part of the bracelet's story ever since. Recent intake at Luxe Du Jour has included Love bracelets in rose gold and silver, the two finishes photographed here.
Is Cartier moving into handbags?
Cartier built its name on jewellery and watches, found success in perfumes, and has more recently dipped its toes into leather goods with its own collection of luxury handbags. It is a young venture by the house's standards, and a contrast to the nearly two centuries of jewellery heritage behind it. For a brand that lives by invention over imitation, the category is a natural extension of everything that came before.
Frequently asked questions
When was Cartier founded?
Cartier traces its start to 1847, when Louis-François Cartier bought the small Parisian store owned by his mentor, Adolphe Picard.
Who designed the Cartier Love bracelet?
Italian jewellery designer Aldo Cipullo created it in 1969, working for the French house in Cartier's New York workshop.
Does Cartier make handbags?
Yes. After building its name on jewellery and watches and finding success in perfume, Cartier now offers its own collection of luxury handbags.
Shop the pieces collectors ask about most in Cartier jewellery and Cartier watches, or go deeper on another French house with our guide to Van Cleef and Arpels.
