Cartier

"After all, as the head of Cartier, Alain-Dominique Perrin, likes to repeat, Vuitton is canvas on suitcases... To make it an object of dreams, it takes skillful and relentless policy. A prestigious advertising campaign, sponsored artistic evenings."

"The new company’s association with Cartier, described as the ‘jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers’ by the Duke of Windsor, the former Edward VIII of Britain before his abdication in 1936, attracted Rupert’s attention as he reviewed their latest acquisitions. Among affluent clients worldwide the name Cartier was legendary. It was an old, established firm with a rich tradition, the kind of business that appealed strongly to Rupert. The Paris firm was established in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier. When the Empress Eugénie, consort of Napoleon III, ordered a silver tea service from him he was made. In 1874 his son Alfred succeeded him as head of Cartier. Cartier’s premises moved in 1899 to Paris’s most fashionable shopping area, the Rue de la Paix, where the shop is still a beacon to tourists. In 1904 Cartier was granted a royal warrant of supplier to the Court of St James by King Edward VII of England. A string of other royal houses followed his example, including those of Spain, Portugal, Russia, Siam, Greece, Belgium and Egypt, as well as the House of Orléans and the principality of Monaco. Celebrities and multimillionaires from all over the world bought their jewellery, watches and valuables from Cartier."

"Apart from jewellery, Cartier’s wares ranged from luxury leather goods, sunglasses, perfumes and pens to its famous objets d’art and ‘mystery clocks’ (pendules mystérieuses) whose hands appeared to float in the air, as well as its stylish Tank wrist watches.2 Cartier’s ‘love bracelet’, designed by Aldo Cipullo in 1969, was sold only to people who were buying a gift for a beloved. Richard Burton bought one for Elizabeth Taylor."

"That was the situation Rupert found when he started his inquiries about the Cartier brand in which Rothmans had acquired an interest. The brand in question was registered under class 34 of the International Brand Classification, the category that included tobacco, smokers’ accessories and matches, and turned out to be a world-famous cigarette lighter. It was the elegant, oval-shaped luxury cigarette lighter that Robert Hocq, the inventor of gas cigarette lighters, had licensed under Cartier’s banner. In time this invention revolutionised the luxury goods industry. The new recipe of combining functionality with luxury caused a turnabout in the cosy, exclusive world of the coterie of prominent luxury goods houses."

"The chemistry student – who with a personal investment of a mere £10 started a worldwide group of companies that would make him a world-famous entrepreneur – is linked to some of the best-known international trademarks, the foundation on which his business empire is built. From Cartier, the ‘king of jewellers and the jeweller of kings’, to the luxury goods of Alfred Dunhill, from Mont Blanc’s stylish writing instruments to the oldest Swiss watchmakers, all fall under Richemont, the international arm of the Rupert umbrella. It was preceded by the establishment of a global chain of tobacco interests under the banner of Rembrandt and Rothmans, as well as the production of the most famous South African wines and spirits."

"Early in the 20th century Cartier opened branches in London’s Bond Street and Fifth Avenue, New York. Alfred Cartier’s three sons respectively managed the Paris, London and New York houses, but after they died in the 1950s the business fragmented."

"Rupert met the Parisians Robert Hocq and Joseph Kanoui, the two partners who emerged as key figures in the reunification of Cartier’s three branches. In 1972 they started taking control of Cartier Paris. Hocq, the energetic marketing expert, was the chairman while Kanoui was in charge of finance."

"So strict was the secrecy surrounding the deal that Rupert’s name does not even appear in books written about Cartier at the time. It was merely mentioned that ‘another group of investors’ acquired Cartier New York in 1976, and that Cartier Monde was established in 1979 as a result of a merger of the groups that owned the houses in Paris, London and New York."

"Nathalie Hocq had such faith in the Ruperts’ integrity and business abilities that she offered Rupert the family share in Cartier after her father’s death. In this way Rupert effectively acquired the controlling interest in Cartier, the international prestige jewellers, via his tobacco interests."