Rock Star
From 18-karat-gold yo-yos to chestnut-size diamonds, Cartier has outfitted everyone from Indian maharajas to Hollywood royalty
By James Scully
Fall 2004 Style & Design
In 1847 Parisian jeweler Louis-Francois Cartier took over a
work-shop on the Rue Montorgueil and sold antique bronzes,
jewelry and watches. He hit the jackpot—and attracted the
attention of the century's new tycoons. His three grandsons later
joined the business, opening more shops in Paris, London and New
York City. (One brother famously traded a string of rare pearls
and $100 for a mansion on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.) No order was
too extravagant: Cartier created 27 tiaras for people attending
the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902. King Farouk of Egypt
had solid-gold toothpicks specially made, the family of King
Edward VII ordered jeweled can openers, and W.K. Vanderbilt
requested 18-karat-gold yo-yos. Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt filled
a cake with Cartier jewels as a birthday gift for the Prince of
Wales. And a challenge from a gemstone-laden maharaja inspired
the elaborate mixes known as Tutti Frutti.
The firm also rocked sales records with the Hope diamond and the
Star of the East. Although divas like the Duchess of Windsor and
Renee Zellweger have coveted such Cartier classics as the Panther
pin and the Trinity ring, few can top the 69.42-carat diamond
that Richard Burton bought for his bride Elizabeth Taylor.
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His life and death recalled in images
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