Written by Jacques Cartier’s great-granddaughter, Francesca Cartier Brickell, this US bestseller finally arrives in France to shed an intimate and new light on the men who wrote the legend.
For some time now, we have seen on social networks that the aura of Francesca Cartier Brickell’s book is growing. Very active on his own account, the latter multiplied signatures and conferences on his famous family across the Atlantic. There was still no soundboard on the French side, and faced with the frenetic pace of innovations and performances of the current Cartier house (owned by the Richemont group), one ends up wondering what the essence of this family composition, written without any collaboration, is. the brand.
In the video, Cartier, a celebration of love
That’s without taking into account the French translation of the book (1), which hits the stands in time this October, which in a few weeks will be marked by the reopening of the legendary store at 13 rue de la Paix. And it’s clear that once you start this novel, it becomes very hard to put down…
Jewelry saga
There are several reasons for this. The first undoubtedly stems from the origins of the book itself and its intimate aspects. Francesca Cartier Brickell was very close to her grandfather, Jean-Jacques, one of four children of Jacques Cartier and the last to own a branch of the brand before the sale began, never suspecting during her childhood that the family home in the heights of Nice was hidden. in the trunk all the correspondence of the three brothers, Louis, Pierre and Jacques. Having chanced upon this treasure, he decides to take advantage of Jean-Jacques’ last years to record his memories and his version of the facts. Fragments of the past, which he will then encounter from former employees of the house or those who met family members at the turn of the last century to support his point.
Secrets of history
The second comes from the abundance of information we get from this investigative book. The data is as valuable to neophytes as it is to jewelry professionals who thought they knew the house’s history like the back of their hand. Because if we’ve always fed on the brand’s star-studded success stories, both with the British royal family in London and its legendary clients around the world (Daisy Fellows, Elizabeth Taylor or Marjorie Merriweather Post to name a few), here we reveal behind the scenes:
In the video, Cartier re-enchants the Champs-Élysées
We will remember the abundance of factual information that puts the origins of the company back into context, confused by the horrors of history (multiple devastating wars, the fall of the Napoleonic empires, recessions, etc.). But which also provide an insight into the Paris of the time, where the heart of jewelery moved from the Halles district to the Opéra, and where the first transatlantic crossings saw wealthy American heirs to the new world shake up the traditional Parisian bourgeoisie. Couturier Worth then reigned supreme, and Cartier would have to carve out its place in the sun and dislodge its competitors of the time.
precious legend
The most curious will enjoy delving into the lives of these three brothers, their wives and their parents. A tenacity passed down from father to son that would allow them to never back down in the face of obstacles and lay the foundations of modern jewelry. As the author notes at the end of his book, “I only hope this story conveys the wonder I felt listening to my late grandfather bring to life the ups and downs of someone so different.” A successful bet.
(1) The Cartiers by Francesca Cartier Brickell, Editions Les Arènes, €26.90.
Source: Le Figaro
