What Makes Cartier Jewellery So Special?
Cartier is a brand synonimous with exquisite, expensive and unique jewellery pieces worn by the rich and famous. The jewellery house has an impressive heritage and a client list to be envied, but for most of us, sadly, to own a piece of Cartier jewellery is something we can only dream about.
So what makes a piece of Cartier jewellery so special?
It takes between 15 and 20 years to train as a jeweller at the Cartier atelier, where there are 40 master jewellers at work. There are also specialist cutters, setters and polishers who each have their very important part to play in the process of creating a piece of Cartier jewellery. Cartier jewellers are renowned for their incredible craftmanship and skill, which is reflected in their beautiful jewellery pieces.
Over 80% of the jewellery items produced are unique, and each piece is painstakingly created using the same techniques that have been used for over 100 years. The process is very labour intensive and it can typically take 1,500 hours to create a brooch, or 3,000 hours to create a small clock. Once you start to understand the amount of work involved in producing each piece, the price tag starts to seem a bit more reasonable!
Since the opening of the first Cartier shop in Paris in 1847, Cartier has built a loyal and distinguished client base. Clients have included Russian Tsars, British Royalty and Hollywood film stars, perhaps most famously Elisabeth Burton, who is a huge fan. Within her sizeable jewellery collection is the famous Burton-Taylor diamond, which was given to the actress by Richard Burton. It is a white-blue 69.42 carat pear shaped diamond, which was used to create a stunning diamond necklace.
The true value of a piece of Cartier jewellery can often be seen when a historical piece comes onto the market and goes to auction. An example of the appreciation that can be seen was demonstrated recently when Calvin Klein sold a pearl and diamond necklace by Cartier. It was originally commissioned by Queen Mary, who then gave it to her son who in turn gave it to his wife, the Duchess of Windsor. Calvin Klein bought the necklace in 1987 for $200,000, and sold it 20 years later for $4,000,000, making it a very shrewd investment, in addition to being such a beautiful necklace!
The demand for Cartier jewellery seems to be stronger than ever. This was demonstrated at the showing of its most recent collection in London, to which Cartier flew 400 of its best clients, and where every single item was purchased within a matter of hours.
Labels: Diamond Jewellery, Diamond Necklaces
posted by The Diamond Chicks at 9:56 AM
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