Jeweller / watch manufacturer
Cartier
Also recorded as: Cartier SA · Louis Cartier
Paris jeweller that shaped the design of the early wristwatch and made the celebrated mystery clocks.
Louis-François Cartier took over a Paris jewellery workshop in 1847. His grandson Louis Cartier designed the Santos (1904) for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont and the Tank (1917), defining the shaped wristwatch. Cartier's movements were long supplied by Edmond Jaeger and LeCoultre, and its 'mystery clocks', developed with Maurice Couët from 1912, appear to have hands floating in rock crystal.
- Country
- France
- City / centre
- Paris
- Founded
- 1847
- Status
- Active (Richemont)
- Key people
- Louis-François Cartier; Louis Cartier (1875–1942); Maurice Couët
Innovations & specialities
- Santos wristwatch (1904)
- Tank (1917)
- Mystery clocks (from 1912)
Works by Cartier in the catalogue
All 19 records →
Clocks · 1863
Clock by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, France, 1863
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Pocket Watches · circa 1920
Cartier “couteau” (Knife-Edge), circa 1920
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · circa 1930's
Cartier wristwatch, circa 1930's
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Pocket Watches · ca. 1936
Watch with diamond-set platinum case and gold link bracelet, Cartier, Paris, ca. 1936.
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Wristwatches · circa 1990
Cartier Pasha, ref. 2412, circa 1990
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · circa 1990
Cartier Santos Ronde Vendome, circa 1990
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · circa 1991
Cartier Tonneau Paris 1991, circa 1991
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Clocks · circa 2000s
Cartier Desk Clock with Alarm, circa 2000s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Clocks · circa 2000s
Cartier Lacquer Arched Desk Clock with Alarm, ref. W0100037, circa 2000s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Movements & Components · circa 2000
Cartier watch dial, circa 2000
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · circa 2005
Cartier Pasha, ref. 2324, circa 2005
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · circa 2010's
Cartier Ballon Bleu, ref. 3284, circa 2010's
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Linked through the Atlas maker authority list, which reconciles the spellings used by different institutions. Attributions are as stated by each holding institution or auction house.
