Cartier was founded in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier in Paris, initially as a jewellery workshop. Under his grandson Louis Cartier - who led the house from 1899 - the brand became the official jeweller to King Edward VII of Great Britain, who famously called Cartier "the jeweller of kings, the king of jewellers." By the early 20th century, Cartier had royal warrants from fifteen European courts, and the Paris-Place Vendôme boutique was the social epicentre of aristocratic shopping.
The pivotal moment for watchmaking came in 1904, when Louis Cartier designed the Santos for his friend, the Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, who complained that pocket watches were useless while piloting. The Santos is widely credited as the first men's wristwatch designed for practical wear - a moment that transformed watchmaking more than any single invention since. In 1917, inspired by the Renault tanks he had seen on the Western Front, Louis Cartier designed the Tank, whose rectangular case and brancards became the defining silhouette of 20th-century dress watches. Both models remain in continuous production today.
Cartier's watchmaking matured significantly after its 1972 acquisition by Robert Hocq and subsequent integration into Richemont in 1993. The company invested heavily in in-house movement manufacture, opening a fully integrated watch manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Today, Cartier develops complications including high-frequency astrotourbillons, mysterious movements with floating hands, and the stunning Crash - a 1967 design inspired by a watch damaged in a car accident, which has become one of the most coveted Cartier references in the modern collector market.
