French ambassador Bernard Vernier-Palliez proposed a toast to Nathalie Hocq, chairman of Cartier International, in town to inspect the recently opened 111th Cartier store, this one in Chevy Chase.

“You have shown that a team of youngsters can lead one of the good old names to success,” said the ambassador, turning to the slender, dark-haired Hocq, 32, at the end of a Cartier fashion retrospective and candlelit dinner for 425 earlier this week at the Pension Building.

Welcoming her guests, the cordial but businesslike Hocq noted, “The House of Cartier started 136 years ago this week. Happy birthday to us.” For Hocq, the visit here was just a stopover on one of her almost continuous ’round-the-world working trips. In just a few years, the fast-moving Hocq has polished the Cartier image and reminded people of the prestigious jewelry house in its heyday.

Hocq’s father, Robert Hocq, was an entrepreneur who convinced Cartier to license a cigarette lighter that was too classy for his own line of middle-price lighters. The lighter was such a success that Cartier shareholders made Robert Hocq president of the company.

Nathalie Hocq had resisted working for her father, but his manufacturing business began to interest her with the Cartier link. So she finally joined her father’s firm. “I told him to give me no title, nothing. Just let me work in some place where no one else works. I told him, ‘You have nothing to lose.’ ” When her father became president of Cartier, he hired his 21-year-old daughter. A few years later, however, her father was struck and killed by an automobile after lunching with Nathalie. She was made president and chief executive officer of Cartier.

The Cartier business, founded in Paris in 1847, was built on fine jewelry, much of it for royalty. Louis Franc,ois Cartier had commissions from Napoleon’s court, and by the turn of the century Cartier was the crown jeweler to the British throne and had appointments to the court in Russia, Italy, Egypt, Morocco and more. “If they have become the jewelers of kings, it is because they are the king of jewelers,” said King Edward VII of England, who ordered 27 tiaras from Cartier for his coronation in 1902.

Louis Cartier, grandson of the founder and a great exponent of Art Deco, changed the look of jewelry, according to Nathalie Hocq. “He had been selling to kings and queens and his clients started asking for other things. Le tout Paris had parties, and he was asked to make small gifts to give away at parties,” says Hocq, who found, to her surprise, belts, boudoir accessories, even shoes with jewels in the company archives. Louis Cartier is credited with introducing platinum in jewelry, making the first wristwatch (for Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont) and designing the much-copied “Tank” watch, as a tribute to the American tank corps.

Hocq was not brought up surrounded by jewels. “My father started losing his family when he was 14–all he inherited was a chair,” she said in her suite at the Four Seasons before the dinner. “We have no aristocratic blood in our family.” But it was not difficult getting used to wearing jewlery. She wore a gold-and-diamond bracelet; three rings, including the classic Cartier three-gold ring, and a belt with a gold chain. “I always liked art and beautiful things,” she says.

At the age of just 15 1/2 she passed her baccalaureate and took her university degree in Paris from Dauphine University, where she studied economics and management at night so she could work during the day. “Besides,” she said, “those courses are so theoretical and slow.” Through a newspaper ad, she landed a job with a market research firm as an interviewer, replacing a woman who was ill. “They gave me the worst suburb, running up and down stairs knocking at doors; 80 out of 100 snapped the door in your face. That was a good start,” she said, smiling. “Women are not so liberated as in America. At age 16, unless you want to work in a factory, it is tough to find a job. I was happy that woman got sick.”

While finishing the university in three years, she assisted the publicity head at a large advertising agency in Paris, then went to Switzerland to work for a company specializing in mergers and acquisitions. In 1972 her father was made president of Cartier and she joined the company, too.

“I started analyzing everything, talking to everyone and, little by little, I discovered things to be done,” said Hocq.

Her most important discovery at Cartier was that there was one designer in the company and he was not designing in the traditional Cartier style. “There is a Cartier style like there is an aeronautical style or a Japanese style. It is difficult to describe, but there are reference points. I had to study the excellency of the past, go back to the source.”

With the help of the ministry of culture she tracked down an 80-year-old former Cartier designer and two former craftsmen. “If you let the craftsmen disappear, you can’t train young people,” she said. The old designer now comes in two days a week to work with the 14 designers on the staff. “I wanted the follow-up of traditional style plus innovation of the young,” says Hocq.

Apparently her plan works. Hocq now concentrates on marketing in the 90 countries where Cartier is sold. “I travel all over. I’m basically everywhere.” She had just come in from Europe with a suntan she had gotten during a weekend in Morocco. Her French braid was a bit undone, her pleated front shirt slightly wrinkled. “I feel like a suitcase,” she said.

But Cartier, which had declined in prestige before her father took over, now is a highly profitable business, with $270 million annual sales. As a result of its success, the company spent $1.5 million in legal fees. “If your design is good,” she said, “everybody tries to copy it.”

Cartier celebrated 100 years of its revolutionary Trinity designs this week. In celebration, we take a look back through the history of Cartier, the founder Louis-François Cartier and the three brothers – Louis, Pierre and Jacques – who made it a global brand

Story by Ian Thorley

Louis-François Cartier was just twenty eight years old when he founded one of the world’s foremost jewellery houses, Cartier, in 1847 at 29 Rue Montorgueil in Paris. Nearly thirty years later in 1874, his son Alfred took control of the company and he soon had an array of clients flocking to the maison to buy Cartier designs. However it was Alfred’s three sons, Louis, Pierre and Jacques, who would go on to take the Cartier name all around the world and establish the Cartier house as synonymous with world famous jewellery.

Louis stayed in Paris while Jacques headed to London in 1902, shortly after receiving a Royal Warrant and supplying jewellery to King Edward VII and his court. Pierre, meanwhile, headed to New York and in 1917 acquired 653 Fifth Avenue. This address remains Cartier’s New York flagship store today.

Such forward thinking on the brothers parts meant the brand would quickly become a favourite with royalty and film stars, as well as business tycoons. Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Clark Gable and the Duchess of Windsor are a handful of the notable names who have had jewellery made or went to Cartier to buy a special piece.

Le Must de Cartier campaign from 1980

Aside from notable clients, Cartier has some incredible creations and certain design classics that are instantly recognised as uniquely Cartier. Important pieces include the famous Trinity rings which celebrated its 100th anniversary this week in Paris. The three-ring debuted almost a century ago in 1924 during the heyday of Art Deco. Designed by Louis Cartier at the request of Jean Cocteau, the three interlocking rings are spun of different golds – white, yellow and rose – symbolising friendship, fidelity and love.

The popularity of the Trinity collection grew in the 1950s and 1960s when celebrities including Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, and Grace Kelly were spotted wearing the ring. The beauty of the Trinity was its simplicity and signified that Cartier designs were for a wide array of customers. This allowed the brand to become accessible and renowned not only for high jewellery designs. Its iconic design codes made its way into an array of Cartier products. Today, the Trinity ring is recognised as an icon in the world of fine jewellery and a testament to Cartier’s rich history as well as its innovation.

Labrynthe wears Cartier Trinity necklace (photo by Greg Williams)

For the centenary a new version of the Trinity has been created. The bands have been reshaped and distorted into cushion shaped ‘squared’ links. This first chapter included classic and large models of the ring both in simple gold or adorned with dazzling diamonds, alongside a matching bracelet and pendant. Cartier has also reintroduced the Maximalist Trinity bracelet and increased the volume of all three bands into an extra large piece.

Cartier Trinity Box Ring

The Cartier Panther is another classic design and of course synonymous with the Maison and a constantly reoccurring theme of its creations. The “Great Cat” motif appeared in 1914 as an onyx-spotted panther pattern wristwatch created by the famous French designer Charles Jacqueau. The initial pattern has evolved to fully sculptured animals, and the array of cats has broadened: to include the striped tiger as well as the panther. It was Jeanne Toussaint, who was known to be a fan of felines, who was nicknamed “The Panther” by Louis Cartier, who became responsible for supervising the cat designs. Along with Peter Lemarchand, she created a variety of jewels which would forever immortalise the feline motif and make it synonymous with Cartier.

Through a century of design, the Cartier cats have gone through various iterations but are still much in demand by jewellery collectors, with designs from the 1980s and 1990s increasing demand.

Cartier Panther Le Voyage Recommence necklace

Another noted style is Tutti-Frutti which was recently spotted on Hollywood superstar Timothee Chalamet. In the early years of the last century Cartier acquired Indian rubies, sapphires and emeralds, carved with floral motifs and these were worked these into a new style of multi-gem jewels which were in contrast to the graphic Art Deco styles that were popular in the time.

Timothee Chalamet attends the world premiere of “Wonka” wearing a Cartier Tutti Frutti (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

The Love and Juste un Clou bracelets are the legacy of Aldo Cipullo, an Italian designer who joined Cartier in New York in 1969 and within two years he had created two icons of the house. The ‘Love’ bracelet, a band in two sections, has to be screwed together with a screwdriver, which is provided by Cartier. Once in a place, the bracelet cannot easily be removed. Cartier made the decision to gift his and her love bracelets to the most famous couples of the era, which included Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton as well as Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw.
Ramla Ali wears Juste Un Clou ring in white gold with diamonds
Meanwhile, another name to note was Maurice Couët, a young clockmaker at Cartier who had been inspired by the magic clocks of illusionist Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin. Couët managed his very own take on these but via a more traditional clock-making route. In 1913, the “Mystery clock” made its debut. What it actually meant was that the hands seemed as though they were floating and no mechanism could be seen, all of which made the clock seem like magic – a trick that stunned staff and clients all at once.

Today, there are arguably a multitude of designs that are instantly recognisable as Cartier: Tank, Trinity, Juste un Clou, Santos de Cartier, Love, Panthère or Ballon Bleu, all of which are based on four main principles of the Maison’s creation. These are the purity of the line, the accuracy of the shape, the precision of proportions, precious details.

Jake Gyllenhaal in Cartier Santos (photo by Greg Williams)

The maison has also received various royal seals of approval. King Edward VII of England used to refer to Cartier as “the jeweller of Kings and the King of jewellers”. It should come as no surprise then that at the coronation of King George V in June 1911, reportedly 19 of the tiaras worn at the ceremony were by Cartier. In fact, it would be from Spain to England and beyond – Belgium, Russia, India – that Kings and Queens around the world would also make Cartier their official supplier of royal jewellery. As did movie stars and society names of the time, such as Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor.

The Duke of Windsor, at the time Prince of Wales, would also become a client, proposing to Wallis Simpson with a 19.77-carat emerald ring made by Cartier in 1936. He further bought a flamingo brooch in 1940 and a Panthere brooch in 1949 – it featured a 152.35-carat cabochon sapphire.

King George VI also bought various pieces for his wife, the Queen Mother. And she also inherited some significant pieces from Dame Margaret Greville, notably the Greville Chandelier earrings, platinum and fancy-cut, which were later given to Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding present in 1947. One of the most famous Cartier pieces owned by Her Majesty is the Halo tiara. It was a gift to her on her 18th birthday, having previously belonged to the Queen Mother. It was loaned to the Duchess of Cambridge for her wedding to Prince William in 2011.