Cartier

The Cartier Love necklace’s pendant features horizontal lines in the engraved “O” shapes, a reference to the round screws used to lock and unlock the bracelet that birthed this signature collection.

Initially requiring a small gold-vermeil screwdriver to wear and remove, the Love bracelet offered radical new symbolism about the eternity of love when it was launched by the legendary luxury jewelry house. Transgressive with its locking mechanism and timeless with its style — it was meant to be worn by a man or woman and match any outfit so you never had to take it off — the bracelet redefined romance in jewelry.

Italian designer Aldo Cipullo (1935–84) created the Love bracelet shortly after he joined Cartier in 1969. Born in Rome, his interest in jewelry was sparked by his father, Giuseppe, who had a costume jewelry company. Immigrating to New York City in 1959, he studied at the School of Visual Arts and went on to work with Tiffany & Co. and David Webb, though the Love bracelet at Cartier was his first big success.

The bracelet’s semicircle halves are connected by a locking mechanism. And the screwdriver that opens it can also be worn as a necklace, maybe by the person who gifted it and holds “the key” to the recipient’s heart. As Cipullo said in the late 1960s, “What modern people want are love symbols that look semipermanent — or, at least, require a trick to remove. After all, love symbols should suggest an everlasting quality.”

The Love design was not Cipullo’s sole hardware-inspired jewelry for Cartier; his unisex Juste un Clou (“just a nail”) bracelet takes the form of a curved nail. Cipullo spent only five years with Cartier, eventually moving on to start his own jewelry business, but his work remains among the house’s top sellers.

Cartier now offers a whole Love line that echoes the screw motif in all manner of adornment. The collection’s necklaces, watches, rings, earrings and cufflinks are made for versatility in daily wear, albeit in more user-friendly designs. The circular shape of the chain-link Cartier Love necklace, with its lobster-claw closure, presents its own symbol of eternity, with versions in yellow and rose gold as well as those embellished with bezel-set diamonds.

For its extraordinary range of bracelets, watches, rings and other adornments, French luxury house Cartier is undeniably one of the most well known and internationally revered jewelers in the world among clients both existing and aspirational.

Perhaps 1847 was not the ideal time to open a new watchmaking and jewelry business, as the French Revolution was not kind to the aristocracy who could afford such luxuries. Nevertheless, it was the year Louis-François Cartier (1819–1904) — who was born into poverty — founded his eponymous empire, assuming control of the workshop of watchmaker Adolphe Picard, under whom he had previously been employed as an assistant. Of course, in the beginning, it was a relatively modest affair, but by the late 1850s, Cartier had its first royal client, Princess Mathilde Bonaparte, niece of Napoleon Bonaparte, who commissioned the jeweler to design brooches, earrings and other accessories.

Under the leadership of Louis-François’s son, Alfred, who took over in 1874, business boomed. Royalty around the world wore Cartier pieces, including Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the Maharaja of Patiala and King Edward VII, who had 27 tiaras made by the jewelry house for his coronation in 1902 and issued Cartier a royal warrant in 1904. (Today, the British royal family still dons Cartier pieces; Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, regularly sports a Ballon Bleu de Cartier watch.)

Cartier’s golden years, however, began when Alfred introduced his three sons, Louis, Pierre and Jacques, to the business. The brothers expanded Cartier globally: Louis reigned in Paris, Pierre in New York and Jacques in London, ensuring their brand’s consistency at their branches across the world. The trio also brought in such talents as Charles Jacqueau and Jeanne Toussaint.

One of Cartier’s earliest major successes was the Santos de Cartier watch — one of the world's first modern wristwatches for men. (Previously, a large number of people were using only pocket watches.) Louis designed the timepiece in 1904 for his friend, popular Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, who wanted to be able to check the time more easily while flying.

Cartier’s other famous timepieces include the Tank watch, which was inspired by the linear form of military tanks during World War I, and the so-called mystery clocks. Invented by watchmaker and magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin and later crafted exclusively for Cartier in the house’s workshop by watchmaker Maurice Couët, the mystery clocks were so named because the integration of glass dials on which the clocks’ hands would seemingly float as well as structures that are hidden away within the base give the illusion that they operate without machinery.

On the jewelry side of the business, Cartier’s internationally renowned offerings include the Tutti Frutti collection, which featured colorful carved gemstones inspired by Jacques’s trip to India and grew in popularity during the Art Deco years; the panthère motif, which has been incorporated into everything from brooches to rings; and the Love bracelet, a minimal, modernist locking bangle inspired by medieval chastity belts that transformed fine jewelry.

While the Cartier family sold the business following the death of Pierre in 1964, the brand continues to innovate today, renewing old hits and creating new masterpieces.

Find contemporary and vintage Cartier watches, engagement rings, necklaces and other accessories on 1stDibs.