Fragrance house

Cartier

Cartier was founded in Paris in 1847. Its business developed through separate Paris, London, and New York branches: Jacques Cartier established the London branch in 1902, and Pierre Cartier established New York in 1909. After Pierre Cartier’s death in 1964, Robert Hocq acquired the Paris, London, and New York branches between 1972 and 1976, bringing them under one company’s control. Johann Rupert and Richemont entered Cartier’s ownership in the early 1990s, and by 1993 the Rupert family held a majority stake; Cartier is now part of the Richemont Group. The house’s public identity centers on creativity, curiosity, design culture, and a singular style expressed through enduring jewellery and watch designs including Santos, Tank, Trinity, Juste un Clou, Panthère, and Ballon Bleu. Founded in 1984, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain helped reshape that public image through contemporary art and cross-disciplinary exhibitions. Must de Cartier, launched in 1981, was Cartier’s first fragrance. Since joining the house in 2005, in-house perfumer Mathilde Laurent has shaped its fragrance identity, including the Les Heures de Parfum collection; La Panthère, launched in 2014, connects Cartier’s panther symbol with Jeanne Toussaint’s 1948 panther design.