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The Cartiers: The untold story of the family behind the jewelry empire

      Inspirational and aspirational, this is probably one of my favorite books of all time. As someone in the jewelry business, I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. The story of the Cartiers is one that deserves much praise. They have reached heights that can only be dreamt of, and this book shows us why they are where they are today.

The founder


The Next Gen: Alfred and his three sons

    During the french revolution, the founder, Louis Francois Cartier, took a huge risk and bought his master's workshop, marking the beginning of the jewelry empire. With hard work, dedication, and vision, the Cartiers were able to take that small workshop, and place themselves in the heart of the luxury market. Joined by one of his children, Alfred who introduced revolutionary ideas such as the introduction of platinum jewelry,  took the business to greater heights and gained a reputation among the "who's who" of that time. As he grew older, Alfred brought in his sons to carry on the business, and each of them brought their unique skillset to take the business further. It moved on to the fourth generation, but unfortunately the family could not carry it on further than that. However, they were able to leave the company intact as they sold it over to others. 

    I loved reading about every thing in this book. From strategic marriage arrangements, and clever marketing disguised in the form of elegant social events and dinner parties, the Cartiers led a very well thought-out life to increase their business/social status. The discipline with which the family handled the business was truly inspirational. The anecdotes of client experiences both good and difficult ones were interesting to say the least. How they handled business through the wars was another fascinating aspect in their history.  The office politics within the company as well as the family politics within the brothers and after that the next generation, kept me hooked throughout the book. The important jewels mentioned in the book got me researching about more jewelry as I was reading this book. 

The Santos Watch
The Patiala Necklace

The Taylor - burton necklace

    If this book had more details than it already has, I would enjoy it more. I think anyone would enjoy reading about this family business. It took me a while to read it, because it was a lengthy book, but there wasn't a single boring section throughout the book. 


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