Louis-François Cartier (December 2, 1819 – May 15, 1904) was a French businessman, jeweler and watchmaker. He founded the world renowned jewelry house

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australi ...

in 1847. He was the grandfather of Pierre Cartier, who opened the Cartier Building in

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, and internationalized the brand. He was the patriarch of the

Cartier family Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australia's ...

Early life and education

Cartier was born within modest means in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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 par ...

apprenticeship under Adolph Picard.

Career

In 1847, Cartier took over his employers store on

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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

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, as he opened a new boutique at

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. He was noted by Princess Mathilde and

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, which gave him the recognition, through protection provided by the Imperial family, which marked the beginnings of his international success. In 1874, his son

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, 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, grand-child of

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

References

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