Cartier Crash ‘First Light’

In order to understand the Crash, you have to understand a little bit about the Cartier family history. The fabled maison was created in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier, after he took over the workshop from his mentor, Adolphe Picard. Louis-François handed the business to his son, Alfred in 1874. Alfred, in turn, had three sons, and by 1899, eldest son Louis was involved in the business and they moved to 13 rue de la Paix, the flagship store in Paris’ exclusive shopping district that still stands today. The Cartiers had, by that point, already experienced incredible success in France, having received patronage from the French aristocracy for decades. In an inspired move to internationalize the brand and one that was reminiscent of a Grimm Brothers fable, Alfred sent his two younger sons to create new Cartier “temples” in foreign cities. Middle child Pierre went to New York. There, he established Cartier USA at 712 Fifth Avenue in 1909 and then shifted into the famous Cartier mansion at 653 Fifth Avenue in 1917. He famously bought this stunning edifice from its owner, railway tycoon Morton F. Plant, for a $100 in cash and a double string of pearls, valued at a million dollars at the time, that Plant’s wife Maisie fancied. His brother Jacques ventured to London, setting up his “temple” in 1902, the same year of King Edward VII’s coronation. He later moved in 1909, to 175-177 Bond Street where the current Cartier London flagship still stands. Louis, Alfred’s eldest son stayed in Paris at the Rue de la Paix flagship established by his father and, in 1904, created the world’s first wristwatch for his friend, the Franco-Brazilian aviator dandy Alberto Santos-Dumont, whose passion was to fly his dirigibles over the rooftops of Paris.