\nThroughout the 19th century, platinum was an incredibly expensive material and was most commonly used by royalty for cutlery and watch-chains. Platinum\u2019s high melting point made it incredibly difficult to work with, so it was an impressive feat when, in 1847, Alfred Cartier began using the brilliant and strong metal in his jewelry. Cartier incorporated it into his\u00a0\u201cGarland Style\u201d pieces and to amplify the brilliance of diamonds.<\/p>
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<\/a><\/div>\n2. Louis Cartier was the first designer to popularize the wristwatch for men.<\/strong> 3. King Edward VII of England dubbed Louis Cartier the \u201cJeweler of Kings and King of Jewelers.\u201d<\/strong> 4. J.P Morgan bought the first Cartier Mystery Clock for $3,200.<\/strong> 5. Pierre Cartier purchased the Cartier New York flagship not with millions of dollars but with a pearl necklace.<\/strong> 6. The iconic Love Bracelet\u2019s design was inspired by medieval chastity belts.<\/strong> But curiously enough, Cipullo drew inspiration from chastity belts, focusing on the symbolism of devotion and fidelity. His Love Bracelet design features a solid cuff with screws and a lock mechanism so it remains secure around your lover\u2019s wrist. The bracelet comes with a screwdriver which is meant to be kept by your significant other so only they can open it.<\/p>\n 7. New York City hospitals keep Love screw drivers handy.<\/strong> 8. For their iconic Panthere design, Cartier developed a unique and painstaking setting to create the texture of the panther\u2019s fur.<\/strong> 9. The highest auction price for a Cartier jewel was $30,335,698.<\/strong> 10. In May 2016, Cartier was ranked as the 58th most valuable brand in the world by Forbes<\/em> magazine.<\/strong> <\/p>\n
\nAfter listening to his longtime friend and Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont lament about the difficulty of using a pocket watch to record flight times, Louis Cartier set about designing a more\u00a0practical wristwatch. In 1904, Cartier debuted his first men\u2019s wristwatch, the appropriately named \u201cSantos\u201d watch. At the time, it was\u00a0a bold foray for the designer as society\u2019s elite considered the pocket watch to the gentleman\u2019s timepiece and women wore wristwatches. However Santos-Dumont\u2019s fame and aeronautic achievements quickly spurred the popularity of the comfortable and functional wristwatch among men.<\/p>\n![\"santos\"](\"https:\/\/www.truefacet.com\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/santos.jpg\")
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\nCartier\u2019s celebrity client list included an impressive number of royals and aristocrats. Princess Mathilde, the niece of Napoleon I, made her first purchase from Cartier in 1856 and Napoleon III\u2019s wife Empress Eugenie became a client in 1859. In the following years, Cartier would be appointed the official purveyor to King Edward VII (1904), King Carlos I of Portugal (1905), King Chulalongkorn of Siam (1908), King Peter I of Serbia (1913), King Fouad I of Egypt (1929), and King Zog I of Albania (1939).<\/p>\n![\"tiara\"](\"https:\/\/www.truefacet.com\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/tiara.jpg\")
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\nIn 1913, Maurice Couet designed the first \u201cmystery clock\u201d for Cartier. These puzzling clocks featured seemingly floating hour and minute hands. The hands are in fact\u00a0mounted to a transparent rock crystal but\u00a0give the illusion the clock is running without gears. Cartier lavishly decorated these mechanical wonders with diamonds and gemstones and would sculpt the clock into a work of art. Financier J.P. Morgan purchased the first Cartier mystery clock, designed by Couet and shaped like a temple, in 1929. When it was put up for auction in 1993, it fetched over $1.5 million.<\/p>\n
\nIn 1914, Pierre Cartier had a stroke of real estate luck when one of his double-strand pearl necklaces caught the eye of millionaire Morton Plant\u2019s second bride-to-be. Plant and his betrothed\u00a0were eager to move out of the \u201ccommercialized\u201d neighborhood where they lived on the posh corner of 5th Avenue and 52nd Street. Cartier meanwhile was keen to move in to the bustling playground of society\u2019s upper crust. Plant and Cartier bartered a trade: Plant\u2019s six-story apartment building plus $100 in exchange for the pearl necklace.<\/p>\n
\nAlso Cipullo designed the Cartier Love Bracelet in 1969 and was inspired by the rather barbaric practice of chastity belts. According to folklore, chastity belts were a sort of underwear contraption designed to prevent the wearer from having sex and worn by women during the Crusades to preserve their faithfulness to their husbands who left to fight. Modern research however posits these were not a common practice and likely used in the 16th century.<\/p>\n![\"love](\"https:\/\/www.truefacet.com\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/love-bracelet.jpg\")
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\nAccording to a recent Vogue<\/em> article, the Love bracelet is so popular, NYC hospitals stock Love screw drivers in their wards so they can remove the bracelet from patients\u2019 wrists during an emergency.<\/p>\n
\nAppropriately named the \u201cfur\u201d setting, diamonds are set into a honeycomb lattice made of tiny, hair-thin wires of gold. Onyx and sapphire are included as the panther\u2019s spots.<\/p>\n![\"fur\"](\"https:\/\/www.truefacet.com\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/fur.jpg\")
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\nCartier\u2019s Sunrise Ruby, a 25.6 carat Burmese ruby, was put on the Sotheby\u2019s auction block in May 2015, with the winning bid of $30,335,698. The gem is now the most expensive ruby, the most expensive colored gemstone and<\/em> the most expensive non-diamond gemstone in the world.<\/p>\n![\"burmese](\"https:\/\/www.truefacet.com\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/burmese-ruby.jpg\")
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\nThe brand is valued at an estimated $10.1 billion and boasts sales of $6.1 billion with 286 worldwide locations.
\nNow that you are a veritable expert in the brand, test your Cartier knowledge with our fun quiz How Well Do You Know Cartier<\/em> here.<\/a><\/p>\n
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