Pierre Camille Cartier (March 10, 1878October 27, 1964) was a French jeweler. He was one of three sons of

Alfred Cartier Alfred Louis François Cartier (February 17, 1841 - October 15, 1925) was a French businessman, jeweler and second generation heir of the world renowned jewelry house Cartier. He is the only son of Louis François Cartier and father of Louis, ...

and the brother of

Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier ( , also , , ; br, Jakez Karter; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French- Breton maritime explorer for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of ...

and

Louis Cartier Cartier International SNC, or simply Cartier (; ), is a French high-end luxury goods conglomerate that designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells jewellery, leather goods, and watches. Founded by Louis-François Cartier (1819–1904) in Paris ...

. Pierre's grandfather, Louis-François Cartier had taken over the jewelry workshop of his teacher Adolphe Picard, in 1847, thereby founding the famous Cartier jewelry company. In 1902, Pierre opened and began to manage the London Cartier store and in 1909, he opened the New York store, moving it in 1917 to the current location of 653 Fifth Avenue, the neo-Renaissance mansion of banker

Morton Plant Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the '' Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horto ...

. After the death of his brothers in 1942, Pierre based his shop in

Paris 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 ...

until he retired to

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

in 1947. Cartier became the owner of the Hope Diamond and on January 28, 1911 sold it to Edward B. McLean. In a deal concluded in the offices of the McLean family's ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' newspaper, Pierre Cartier sold the diamond for US$180,000. A clause in the sale agreement for the diamond, that was widely believed to bring death and disaster to its owner, stated that "Should any fatality occur to the family of Edward B. McLean within six months, the said Hope diamond is agreed to be exchanged for jewelry of equal value". By March, the diamond had not been paid for in accordance with the terms in the sale agreement. Cartier hired a lawyer to sue McLean for payment who responded by saying it was on a loan for inspection. On February 2, 1912 the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that the "Wealthy Purchasers of Famous Stone to Retain It Despite Sinister Reputation. "

References

Further reading