The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire

Beautifully written this fast paced book is a detailed, chatty insight to the hard work and familial ties that created an enduring empire committed to excellence, beauty and luxury. It also pays homage to the many dedicated, loyal employees who worked alongside the family. Highly recommended

I really enjoyed reading this book about the Cartier business and family. So many beautiful pieces were made in their studios for clients all around the world. Many of those pieces can be seen online in great detail as you read if you so choose as I think back the family patriarch’s motto “always be kind” is one I hope to live for.

Francesca Cartier Brickell gives the attentive, patient reader a thorough overview of the foundation, expansion, and loss of the family control of the Cartier empire from 1847 to the 1970s. The Cartier’s corporate tagline “never copy, only create” comes out clearly in the firm’s relentless drive for beauty, timeliness, and high craftmanship. The premium of the Cartier’s creations appeals to their buyer's psyche. The book under review contains a good selection of pictures of these glamorous offerings in color. Furthermore, Ms. Brickell offers useful insights into the motivations of the purchasers and sellers of Cartier’s product offerings over time. In summary, the author succeeds in bringing to life her illustrious ancestors, their achievements, and occasional misdeeds that make them human.

Detailed history of Cartier and the family that created it. Informative and interesting read. Well written, with good flow. Detailed

Beautiful stories about business, family, craftsmanship, design, and world history in the 19th and 20th centuries.

This book is really brilliant. It isn’t a picture book like a coffee-table book First of all, if you’re a reader, 600+ pages is not really a long book for what it covers; which is why it took 10 years to write. It’s filled with comprehensive, authenticated information from access that a writer/biographer wouldn’t normally have access It really is a story about the process to create a successful. Hard work and perseverance through bad times such as the first- and second-world war. Diplomatic relationships between owner and consumer. Creating a product that kept its relevancy over 150 years. I loved the inclusion of family thoughts as it gave the book personality. These relationships affect everything in any family business. I think the three brothers did an excellent job in identifying strengths (both staff and themselves), creating teams of experts. To see an earring design out of the curve of a vase or to see a color combination from a historic object without copying is astonishing. Buy this book not just for the allure of the beautiful objects, but because it covers a lot of business principles and clever deal-making which was the key behind their enduring legacy in history.

I couldn’t put this one down. This was an amazing story of the wealthy and powerful through revolutions and wars as seen through a family having to adapt and change with the times. The combination of art, fashion, society, luxury and world history are told with personal letters and pictures of a family whose story is every bit as wondrous as the gorgeous treasures that were created under their name. I absolutely loved it!

Like the jewerly, this book is elegant, beautiful and very well informed. Not only the story of the family but the events that shaped the history of France during the XIX and XX century.Written with the elegance. And very entertaining. I really liked this book