Cartier
Founded in 1847 and dedicated to excellence ever since, Cartier is a master of both jewellery and haute horologer. The Parisian house's 'Tank', 'Ballon Bleu' and 'Santos' watches are some of the most iconic timepieces in history, while the 'Pasha de Cartier' is one of the most exciting launches of late. Explore our exquisite range from Cartier here.
Shop Cartier women's collection here.
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Tank Must de Cartier Large SolarBeat™ 33.7mm Stainless Steel Watch, Ref. No. CRWSTA0122
The History
The jeweller to kings and the king of jewellers, Cartier’s story began in 1847 when Mr Louis-François Cartier rented a modest jewellery store near the oyster market in Paris. He was just 28, but within three decades his business was an empire, built by his sons Pierre, Louis and Jacques, in London, Paris and New York. Their Swiss-made watches are both timeless jewellery and Art Deco icons, with a penchant for novel case shapes and inspirations – from tortoises and baths to armoured vehicles.
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Tracks Of My Years
In 1917, just 90 miles from the carnage of the Western Front, the hushed Parisian ateliers of Cartier were working on a wristwatch that would become the benchmark not only for ‘shaped’ watches, but dress watches as a whole. Louis Cartier had seen pictures of the first British Army tanks rumbling across the scorched earth of Flanders, and the footprint of their caterpillar tracks inspired the Tank’s principal feature, its lateral “brancards”, or “stretcher handles”.
Those Magnificent Men
Mr Santos-Dumont was a flamboyant and pioneering Brazilian aviator who rendered turn-of-the-century Parisians flabbergasted by buzzing around the Eiffel Tower in his powered flying machines. He might have come a cropper if it wasn’t for his pal Mr Louis Cartier, who responded to his request for a hands-free timepiece with the now-legendary Santos de Cartier watch – arguably the first-ever pilot’s wristwatch. Fast-forward to 1978, and the rebooted Santos was being teed up as the luxury watch of the 1980s – a status cemented by the yellow-gold number gleaming from the wrist of a certain Gordon Gekko in 1987’s Wall Street.