Dr. N.
Cartier is one of the big names in the world of fine jewelry and watchmaking. The feature of this maison is to always aim for maximum elegance, transporting the lines and styles of jewelery to the watchmaking world.
The most important models of this house have adorned the wrist of great celebrities: the Cartier Tank worn by Jacqueline Kennedy as by Andy Warhol, the Pasha chosen by the ruler of Marrakech, or the Santos designed for the homonymous aviator.
In this article we will discover the history and most important models of the famous maison Parisian.
Cartier: the story
Louis Francois Cartier founded the company that still bears his name in 1847. It is an era of great economic and cultural vitality for France, and the creations of this jewelry do not fail to immediately find admirers. The key to Cartier production is immediately the light, airy style, which conquers a market hitherto dominated by very classic jeweler creations. The move to the Paris office dates back to 1859. A date of great importance for the company is 1899, when Louis Cartier, grandson of the founder, takes the reins of the company, and focuses decisively on watchmaking production.
Under the management of Louis, Cartier experienced a period of great success, marked by great watches such as the Santos, the Pasha, the Tortue, and above all the famous Tank.
In the seventies of the twentieth century, Cartier also underwent the effects of the so-called quartz crisis, which involves the entire luxury watch sector. After the difficulties of the quartz crisis, the relaunch relates to the reinterpretation of the great classics of the company, especially the Cartier Tank and the Cartier Santos.
Let's now see the most representative models.
Cartier, the most famous creations
The first of Cartier's hugely successful wristwatches is undoubtedly the Santos. This model, the result of the requests of the Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont - inventor of the first airplane capable of taking off with the power of its own engine, without the need for catapults like the Wright brothers' aircraft - is characterized by great readability. . The date of creation, 1904, makes the Cartier Santos one of the first wristwatches that became popular with the public.
In the midst of the Great War, Louis Cartier creates the Tank watch, whose shapes are inspired by the new combat vehicle that disrupted the battlefields in 1917: the tank. Despite such a martial beginning, the soft and squared shapes of the Cartier Tank soon conquered the female universe as well. In fact, the Parisian maison counts among its clients none other than Jacqueline Kennedy. Thanks to its particular style, the Cartier Tank, marketed in models for men and women, it is suitable for almost all wrists, regardless of the individual model.
1932 is the year of another great classic of the maison Parisian: the Cartier Pasha. Born at the explicit request of El Glaoui, Pasha of Marrakech, who wanted a watch that did not need to be removed from the wrist to be able to bathe, is characterized by a circular case, a screw back and a cap likewise screwed to protect the winding crown from water infiltrations. The water resistance of this model later aroused the interest of several Military Marines, who chose it as an equipment for their divers in the XNUMXs and XNUMXs.
Cartier: the maison today
After the crisis period of the seventies, the maison Parisian has been able to relaunch itself with collections of watches and jewels capable of transporting the elegance of its most famous models into modernity. The Tank, the Santos and the Pasha continue, today as in the past, to conquer numerous wrists.
