Louis-François Cartier (November 2, 1819 – May 15, 1904) was a French businessman, jeweler and watchmaker. He founded the world renowned jewelry house Cartier in 1847. He was the grandfather of Pierre Cartier, who opened the

Cartier Building The Cartier Building, also 653 Fifth Avenue, is a commercial building on the southeast corner of 52nd Street and Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building serves as the flagship store of Cartier in Ne ...

in New York, and internationalized the brand. He was the patriarch of the Cartier family.

Early life and education

Cartier was born within modest means in

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

to Pierre (1787–1859) and Elisabeth (''née'' Girardin). His father was a metal worker, and his mother worked as a laundry woman. He completed a

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their part ...

apprenticeship under Adolph Picard.

Career

In 1847, Cartier took over his employers store on

Rue Montorgueil Rue Montorgueil () is a street in the 1st arrondissement and 2nd arrondissement (in the Montorgueil-Saint Denis-Les Halles district) of Paris, France. Lined with restaurants, cafés, bakeries, fish stores, cheese shops, wine shops, produce stan ...

in the 2nd arrondissement, and began to develop a new strategy for the business, which mainly included to make it more attractive for clients. He began to introduce 'imaginative jewelry' as well as 'fashion and novelty items' alongside the core watchmaking business. At the time most of the timepieces were bought from other manufacturers and just sold under his name. In 1853, Cartier moved his store to Place du Palais-Royale, in the 1st arrondissement, which was more upscale and known for luxury goods. Cartier further expands his business, next in 1859, under the regime of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930 ...

, as he opened a new boutique at

Boulevard des Italiens The boulevard des Italiens is a boulevard in Paris. It is one of the 'Grands Boulevards' in Paris, a chain of boulevards built through the former course of the Wall of Charles V and the Louis XIII Wall, which were destroyed by the orders of Loui ...

. He was noted by Princess Mathilde and

Empress Eugénie An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

, which gave him the recognition, through protection provided by the Imperial family, which marked the beginnings of his international success. In 1874, his son Alfred, entered the family business. He enriched the product collection with Cartier watches and soon took over management from his father. Together they were able to attract clients from all the great aristocratic and cosmopolitan fortunes in the world. This was further strengthened when his son Alfred, married Andrée-Caroline Worth, a daughter of

Charles Frederick Worth Charles Frederick Worth (13 October 1825 – 10 March 1895) was an English fashion designer who founded the House of Worth, one of the foremost fashion houses of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He is considered by many fashion historians to ...

, who owned a renowned Parisian fashion house.

Personal life

On February 15, 1840, Cartier married Antoinette Guermonprez, in Paris. They had five children; * Alfred Francois Cartier (February 17, 1841 - October 15, 1925), married to Andrée-Caroline Worth, daughter of

* Camille Léonie (1846-?), married to Louis Prosper LeComte

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartier, Louis-Francois 1819 births 1904 deaths People from Paris 19th-century French businesspeople 20th-century French businesspeople French jewellers French watchmakers (people)