“YES, my job is quite unique,” exclaims Bernard Fornas, the CEO of Cartier. “I have not met another CEO who has this kind of portfolio, certainly not of the same scale. I’m very proud of it.”

Fornas, besides naturally being a celebrity in the world of jewellery and watchmaking, is the custodian of Cartier’s 165-year heritage. “Our distinctive feature is our archives, and a collection of 1,300 pieces of our own making. This is phenomenal by any measure.”

If measurements are anything to go by, Fornas and his colleagues are beaming. When Cartier’s TimeArt exhibition concluded in February, thousands of ordinary people from all over the world had visited and went away deeply enchanted by extraordinary works of design and innovation in watchmaking.

Held at Singapore’s iconic ArtScience Museum, the exhibition featured a large number of highly innovative timepieces from throughout Cartier history, including 12 mystery clocks which still defy one’s imagination.

The timepiece collection was taken out of their Geneva home for the first time. The exhibition showed its earliest watches, including the Santos — the first wristwatch ever — right up to present day innovations, including the concept watch that defies gravity.

That kind of success for an exhibition is testimony to the big decision of managing — and owning —- one’s own heritage. The interest in heritage is manifested online as well. To mark its 165th anniversary, Cartier commissioned a short film entitled L’Odysséey, which is on YouTube. The filmmaking is visually divine — there are diamonds sparkling like galaxies of stars swirling in a night sky — but of interest is the number of hits, a clear sign that, everywhere, people are interested in heritage.

VINTAGE IS HOT

Cartier buys back jewellery and watches from owners, restores them in an authentic fashion following archival records, and sells them in boutiques as vintage pieces.

Vintage, it turns out is hot, although it does beg the question: why would anyone surrender a Cartier in the first place?

“As you know, jewellery and watches are passed from generation to generation, and families grow in different directions,” says Fornas. “Gems and parts could be missing because the original piece may have been dismantled.”

What sets Cartier vintage apart is that the restoration is executed with complete authenticity. From the archives, technical specifications of each piece are recreated down to the last inclusion in a gem stone. It may take time, but it can be done. “We are expert at restoring our original pieces, sometimes for resale in our vintage department, and sometimes for the owner,” says Fornas. “We create, we manufacture, we sell, and yes, sometimes we buy back,” says Fornas.

BUYING IS AN ART

For some 30 years now, Cartier has passionately reacquired its works of spectacular beauty and craftsmanship. “We have now about 1,300 pieces of the most beautiful things ever made by Cartier, he says. “Each time we find a piece of exceptional quality, representing a special period of history, a special style, and that special savour faire of Cartier, we buy it for our collection.” And often, a few years later, another one, sometimes of even better quality, turns up. “We use our archives to guide us on this.”

ARCHIVES

“We have amazing archives,” Fornas exclaims exuberantly. “Every single piece ever created is recorded in our archives. The archives are important because Cartier, as a company, wants a record of its own evolution, and the evolution of its jewellery. But, now I believe our archives show the evolution of jewellery and watchmaking of the world.”

For owners, the archives function like a warranty for every piece. If you inherit a piece, it’s possible to check if every part is original and with that, get an accurate valuation.

The Cartier archives in Paris, London and New York contain records of every single piece of jewellery, watch and other beautiful objects ever made. The documents show very precise technical data, design sketches, the artisan and craftsmanship, the provenance of each component, and details of the transaction.

CUSTOMERS

In the glory days — especially in the first half of 20th century — the world’s wealthiest often commissioned seriously spectacular suites of jewellery, watches and objets d’art. Some customers are figures of history, thanks to their personal and professional accomplishments.

“The new maharajahs, of course! There are more new maharajahs and they come from so many countries these days.”
Like all customers, they look for beauty and a name that guarantee’s warranty and authenticity. “In hard times, people turn to reliable, trusted brands because they want to be assured and have legitimacy,” says Fornas. “In good times, they prepare for bad days.”

It’s happening right now. These days, in a season anticipating a global recession, more people are buying than ever before, and they are buying big pieces. It’s viewed as a good way to spend their money.

In the 1990s came some gamechangers. Women started buying for themselves, a man was no longer involved in the transaction. Younger people are shopping too, especially for bridal jewellery. The increasing number of younger millionaires around the world is passionate about watches. A bigger middle class emerged with a particular liking for contemporary jewellery, which is exploding. China, eastern Europe and Central Asia opened up.

Behind the emotions of buying jewellery and watches lie the concept of investment but for a company to have this kind of status, the brand needs to be powerful.

“Never dilute the brand,” says Fornas. “A brand needs identity and personality. Copying doesn’t do anything for a brand. As Cartier is always copied, it has forced us to move faster than most and to be more creative. We have 27 creative people in house, 11 nationalities, men and women. We are a creative melting pot.”

Triumph of love

THE story of King Edward VIII, who abdicated in 1936 with the sole aim of marrying twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson, the woman he loved, still fascinates the world. For her, he became the Duke of Windsor, an act of love considered the century’s most romantic.

Their undying love is reflected in jewellery and precious objects. A souvenir of a lovers’ journey, with the itinerary engraved on a gold cigarette case and on a gold powder box set with precious stones, both ordered at Cartier. A map of

Europe is etched on the lid, the cities they visited marked in different coloured gems which are connected by red and blue enamelled lines.

The Duke designed the “WE” brooch, for which he wrote a handwritten letter, duly archived by Cartier in 1937 describing exactly how he wanted the brooch to be made.

Dismissed from their formal obligations, the couple moved to Paris. The Windsors frequented France’s high society, lived in luxury hotels and at the beautiful homes of friends, and travelled with their six dogs and several hundreds of suitcases between Paris, Deauville, Cannes, Palm Beach and Saint-Moritz. They seduced the public and became the most mediatised couple in the tabloids of the time.

Jeanne Toussaint, jeweller at Cartier, forged a friendship with the Windsors. She, the soul of Cartier’s animal creations, convinced the Duchess that she alone deserved to wear the sapphire panther brooch.

Over the years, Wallis enriched her animal collection of brooches, bracelets, necklaces, lorgnettes with felines, dogs  and unusual birds. This included a duck head-profile blister pearl mounted on a pin, and the famed flamingo.
Cartier’s archives also contain unpublished portraits of the Duchess on which tiaras had been partially drawn to see which one would be best for her.

In 1956, the Duchess had Cartier make a tiger brooch paved with bright yellow brilliants and onyx on a yellow-gold mount. “This will be my last fancy,” she said, “approved by Edward, who is so happy to give it to me.”

Wallis died in 1986. Her magnificent collection was auctioned by Sotheby’s in 1987. Cartier bought some of them 50 years after they had been made.

More than anything else, they reflect a style, an era and creative boldness in jewellery, and they bear witness to Cartier’s extraordinary encounter with this legendary couple. Today, they rank among the most moving haute joaillerie pieces of the Cartier Collection.

Crafted by passion

IN 1964, Richard Burton married Elizabeth Taylor. He was a burning passion in her life; the actress had met her match. They were a passionate couple: passionate about love, and passionate about jewellery. He liked to give her jewels, and she loved to receive them. They were made for each other. The excesses of their passion knew no bounds, manifested by the sumptuous gifts they exchanged.

Elizabeth Taylor’s persona, charm and beauty inspired a unique jewellery collection now as legendary as the talent and charisma of the great actress.

Her love for men was tightly bound up with her passion for jewellery; photos of Elizabeth Taylor portray the gem-studded romantic milestones of her life and loves.

Reconstituting a dream

IN 1926, Cartier’s Paris jewellery workshops received a trunk full of precious stones and jewellery belonging to the Maharajah of Patiala. This extravagant man wanted his stones remounted by Parisian jewellers, whose acquaintance he had made in India.

What emerged was a probably the grandest commission of jewellery. Five magnificent chains in Art Deco style, each in platinum and encrusted with diamonds. In the centre, a cascade of seven large diamonds ranging from 18 to 73 carat surmounted a pendant whose centrepiece was the celebrated De Beers diamond, a yellow stone of 234.69 carat.

A tobacco-coloured diamond of 18 carats and two rubies with a total weight of 29.58 carat brought a splash of colour to the immaculate white of the whole. The finished necklace comprised 2,930 diamonds that totalled 962.25 carats.

In 1998, the necklace was discovered in London, in very poor condition. Cartier could not remain insensitive to the splendour, tinged with nostalgia, that still surrounded the necklace, the most grand and imposing ever made by Cartier, perhaps even by any jeweller.

All that remained of the original necklace were the five diamond-encrusted, platinum Art Deco chains. The central stones had vanished, as had the De Beers diamond.

Cartier embarked on an unprecedented adventure for the Collection. For now, substitutes have been used to recreate the brilliance and sparkle of this extraordinary piece of jewellery: cubic zirconium for the diamonds and synthetic rubies whose colour is the nearest possible match for the original Burmese gems.

The jewellers at Cartier Paris have succeeded in reproducing the imposing pendant with the same fine craftsmanship that distinguished late-1920s platinum jewellery. They have used every possibility to recreate the necklace’s original beauty until, one by one, the synthetic stones can be replaced by natural diamonds and by two Burmese rubies.