MerkFrench
Cartier
52 actieve items
In 1904, the Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont complained to his friend Louis Cartier that pocket watches were impractical while flying. Cartier's response was to design the Santos, a wristwatch with a square bezel, exposed screws referencing the Eiffel Tower's structural rivets, and sword-shaped hands, that became, when it went on public sale in 1911, the first commercially available men's wristwatch. It was a characteristic Cartier gesture: solving a practical problem with an object so elegant it redefined an entire product category.
The house had been founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier, who took over the workshop of his master Adolphe Picard. When Louis-François's son Alfred assumed control in 1874, the family's ambitions began to scale. Alfred's three sons divided the world between them: Louis ran Paris and drove design innovation, Pierre opened Fifth Avenue in New York (reportedly trading a pearl necklace for the mansion), and Jacques established 175 New Bond Street in London, timed to Edward VII's coronation. The king himself issued Cartier a royal warrant in 1904, calling the house "the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers."
Louis Cartier's technical contributions went beyond watchmaking. He pioneered the use of platinum in fine jewelry, exploiting the metal's strength to create nearly invisible settings that put the focus entirely on gemstones. This breakthrough redefined modern jewelry design. The Love bracelet, designed in 1969 by the young Italian designer Aldo Cipullo during a late-night moment of personal heartache, became another defining object: a flat gold cuff secured by functional screws, symbolising commitment and permanence, given as matching pairs to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Ali MacGraw and Steve McQueen, and countless couples since.
The Cartier Collection today comprises over 3,000 pieces, exhibited at forty-two major institutions since its first showing at the Petit Palais in 1989. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian (which holds a 98.57-carat Bismarck sapphire in a 1959 Cartier necklace), and the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain all maintain significant holdings. The house left family control in 1964 and is now part of the Richemont Group, operating over 200 stores across 125 countries.
On Auctionist, 548 Cartier lots are recorded, spanning watches (180), rings (84), bracelets (58), and broader jewelry and accessories. Kaplans Auktioner leads with 119 items, followed by Bukowskis Stockholm (66) and Bukowskis Helsinki (39). A bracelet has reached 340,000 NOK, Love bracelets trade around 75,000 SEK, and Santos de Cartier watches appear regularly. For Nordic collectors, Cartier represents the intersection of French haute joaillerie and horological innovation at its most refined.