An apprentice to Maitre Picard, he succeeds him after 1847 in the "rue Montorgueil" workshop and became the Palais Royal Jeweler's purveyor. Princess Mathild's support guaranteed him a prestigious clientele which he welcomed at "9, boulevard des Italiens"; Princess Mathild was Napoleon III's cousin. The International aristocracy inspired by he 1867 exhibition, was seduced by the art of Cartier.

Ruined by 1870 collapse, Louis-Francois Cartier assisted by his son Alfred a shrewd businessman and qualified artist , quickly rebuild his reputation trough Europe. In 1898 Alfred and his son Louis moved to ”13, rue de La Paix”. Louis Cartier, creator of jewels and art objects, confirmed his talent by tying again with clock making traditions, lost now for more than a century. Thereafter, Cartier’s clocks, table clocks, and watches were to be manufactured with an emphasis on perfection, beauty and originality. Clock-making, a secondary activity at first, became the predominant activity and prestige of Cartier. The first table clocks were created for the Royal families of Orleans, Greece and England, the first wrist-watch, in 1904, for the Brazilian Alberto Santos Dumont, an aviation pioneer. In the meantime, Alfred’s two other sons, Pierre and Louis, founded Cartier in London and New York, in 1910, two branches in Moscow and Persian Gulf. Than after WWI, became the new style; Cartier Cannes (1935) and Monte Carlo (1938) were founded.

Cartier realizes the baton of the Fields Marshal’s Foch, and numerous academician swords. Dynasty continued with Claude Cartier and Pierre’s son-in-law, Pierre Claudel (son of the academician Paul Claudel). Branches were then founded in Geneva, Hong Kong, and Munich. In 1972, Herbert Hocq, president of Cartier Paris gave the old house a touch of modernism and youth. The ”Must of Cartier” creation became an international development (forty shops “Must”). In 1976, Robert Hocq rebuilt the Cartier Empire of 1908 by taking over the London and New-York management. After his historical account, some particularly remarkable creations and innovations by Louis Cartier are as follows;

• 1904 Invention of Santos Dumont wrist watch;
• 1917 Creation of the First mysterious Cartier clock;
• 1917 creation of the first extra-flat Tank watch in homage of the American army;
• 1932 First water resistant “de Luxe” wrist-watch made for the Marrakech Pacha.

The Santos wristwatch was created especially to replace the pocket watch, difficult to look at while flying. The Tank watch was made to look like tank’s Caterpillars on homage of the United States for the WWI. Similarly the Vandome watches lugs were inspired by cab’s carriage poles. These concepts are still manufactured in the field of art objects, Cartier returned to manufacturing mysterious clocks.

This development put together different teams of craftsmen on the same piece: gem, cutter, enameller, engraver, sculptor, lacquer, setter, polisher, sheath-maker, mother of pearl artisan, guilder, watchmakers, etc…

In this way Cartier enabled the French Artisan and artistic potential to survive by revalorizing tradition handcraft, the apprentices training and exportation. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the mechanical part of the watch was not considered by the jewelers because of its problems in their trading; assembling, adjustment, repair,...In 1905 Louis Cartier made sure to have the exclusive production of one of the first watch-establishment in Paris: Edmond Jaeger.

This association put together an artist and a technician and turned out to be very successful: Jaeger came out with an important reduction of the movement thickness. The dial became rectangular or oval for the first time in the watch history. Jaeer adapted is mechanic to these transformations, and made the “Duo-plan” caliber. (The movement is three times as long as it is wide). Relating to the bands, the collaboration of Cartier-Jaeger enabled the creation of the deployment buckle much more elegant and practical.

Today, Cartier has his own workshops in Switzerland and manufactures his own movements. Miss Jeanne Toussaint assistant of Cartier , had the designs of her creation manufactured under the management of Maurice Covet and his brother., admirable artisans who helped Cartier for almost sixty years. Without any doubt, Cartier is fully a clock making creator and one of the most prestigious name in his field.