Cartier is one of those names that nearly everyone knows. It used to belong to a league of such names- Fabergé, Worth, Lanvin- but is one of the only one to last. We hear the name come up at Christmas and Valentine’s Day, at state banquets and the Met Gala. But what do we know of the name and the company? I wanted to feature this book for Style File Friday because it is one of the most comprehensive and detailed “biography” of a fashion house available, and was written by a Cartier family member. (And quite frankly, if you know someone who likes fashion history, this is a fantastic present.) Let’s dive into The Cartiers by Francesca Cartier Brickell!
The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewellery Empire, Francesca Cartier Brickell
The captivating story of the family behind the Cartier empire and the three brothers who turned their grandfather’s humble Parisian jewelry store into a global luxury icon–as told by a great-granddaughter with exclusive access to long-lost family archives
The Cartiers is the revealing tale of a jewelry dynasty–four generations, from revolutionary France to the 1970s. At its heart are the three Cartier brothers whose motto was “Never copy, only create”.
Francesca Cartier Brickell, whose great-grandfather was the youngest of the brothers, has traveled the world researching her family’s history, tracking down those connected with her ancestors and discovering long-lost pieces of the puzzle along the way. Now she reveals never-before-told dramas, romances, intrigues, betrayals, and more.
Why You Should Read This…
I am going to start this review by being very upfront- this book can easily be described as a tome. I listened to the audiobook* and it was a cool 22 hours. This is a personal family history that doubles as a company history, and it is structured as a family history. If you detailed your own family history over 150+ years, it would probably be of a similar length. But if you want the details, this is the book for you!
I had watched the V&A’s talk with Francesca Cartier Brickell and was very interested though did not know what to expect from the book. Cartier Brickell is not an historian, but that does not mean that this book is not thoroughly researched and well-written. As a member of the Cartier family, she has unfettered access to the Cartier family archives, and it shows. With Cartier, the family and the business were inextricably linked for over a century- they could not be separated in the first few generations. Using both familial sources and company archives, Cartier Brickell brings the Cartier story back to life.
This book is a who’s who of global society since the mid-nineteenth century. Countless fashion designers, members of different royal families, politicians, socialites, and more are present in the Cartier story. You may have to google a name here or there, but you do not need any background knowledge to enjoy The Cartiers!
*I listened to the audiobook as I stated above. The book version looks like it has many fantastic photographs in it, but obviously you are not getting those in an audiobook.
Is The Cartiers by Francesca Cartier Brickell on your to-read list?
Cheers,
The Historian
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