Cartier Watches

Cartier was founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier when he took over the workshop of his master. In 1874, his son Alfred Cartier took over the administration of the company, but it was Alfred's sons Louis, Pierre, and Jacques who were responsible for establishing the worldwide brand name of Cartier.

In 1904, the Brazilian pioneer aviator, Alberto Santos-Dumont complained of the unreliability and impracticality of using pocket watches while flying to his friend Louis Cartier. Cartier designed a flat wristwatch with a distinctive square bezel. This watch was not only a hit with Santos-Dumont, but also with Cartier's many clients. Thus, out of this timeless design, the Santos was born. This was the first men's wristwatch.

In 1907, Cartier signed a contract with Edmond Jaeger, who agreed to exclusively supply the movements for Cartier watches. By this time, Cartier had branches in London, New York, and St. Petersburg, and was quickly becoming one of the most successful watch companies in the world. The introduction of the Baignoire and Tortue models (both of which are still in production today) took place in 1912, followed by the Tank model's debut in 1917. This line too has survived, with over thirty varieties now being made since.

In the early 1920s Cartier formed a joint company with Edward Jaeger (of Jaeger-LeCoultre) to produce movements solely for Cartier. Thus was the European watch & clock company born, although Cartier continued to use movements from other great makers. Cartier watches can be found with movements from Vacheron Constantin, Audemars-Piguet, Movado and LeCoultre. It was also during this period that Cartier began adding its own reference numbers to the watches it sold, usually by stamping a four-digit code on the underside of a lug. Jacques took charge of the London operation and eventually moved to the current address at New Bond Street.