The Cartiers

The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire

De: Francesca Cartier Brickell

Narrado por: Hattie Morahan

“A dynamic group biography studded with design history and high-society dash . . . [This] elegantly wrought narrative bears the Cartier hallmark.”—The Economist

The “astounding” (André Leon Talley) 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

“Ms. Cartier Brickell has done her grandfather proud.”—The Wall Street Journal

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” and who made their family firm internationally famous in the early days of the twentieth century, thanks to their unique and complementary talents: Louis, the visionary designer who created the first men’s wristwatch to help an aviator friend tell the time without taking his hands off the controls of his flying machine; Pierre, the master dealmaker who bought the New York headquarters on Fifth Avenue for a double-stranded natural pearl necklace; and Jacques, the globe-trotting gemstone expert whose travels to India gave Cartier access to the world’s best rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, inspiring the celebrated Tutti Frutti jewelry.

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.

The Cartiers also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the firm’s most iconic jewelry—the notoriously cursed Hope Diamond, the Romanov emeralds, the classic panther pieces—and the long line of stars from the worlds of fashion, film, and royalty who wore them, from Indian maharajas and Russian grand duchesses to Wallis Simpson, Coco Chanel, and Elizabeth Taylor.

Published in the two-hundredth anniversary year of the birth of the dynasty’s founder, Louis-François Cartier, this book is a magnificent, definitive, epic social history shown through the deeply personal lens of one legendary family.

©2019 Francesca Cartier Brickell (P)2019 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A human story—one even the unadorned will read with pleasure.”—The New York Times

“Extraordinary.”—The Spectator

“Dramatic.”—The Economist

The most amazing story

Francesca takes you through the history of Cartier in novel like fashion. The story isn’t nearly a timeline and facts, but an escape of a story of how events came to be. The Precision, the care the style the design that went into every perfect detail of Cartier is laid out here. The book filled with anecdotes and journeys that will take you around the world meeting kings, queens, rulers and the most elite heiresses. A fascinating read up to the very last sentence..

Fascinating

The story is just fascinating. Something to be said about hard work and respect. I also absolutely LOVED Ms Morahan’s voice and accents.

Lovely and loving history.

Beautifully written and narrated. A fine tribute to a great family of great craftsmen. Enjoyed it immensely.

Most enlightening

A beautifully read history of jewels, family and the modern era's rapid change. Well written and a joy to listen to. Thank you.
My favourite take out: "Be very kind."

Fantastic history and narration!

What a well researched book. Such colorful history and the narration was excellent. I’m sure I’ll read it again in the future!

Excellent but no pdf photos with audio

Excellent story, writing and narration--very disappointed that there is no PDF of photos to go with Audible version as it says there is a beautiful insert in the hardcover of many photos.

Wonderful

I love the book. As exquisite as Cartiers creations. A fascinating account of the Cartier Dynasty and journey through history. Just wonderful.

I really enjoyed listening to this book.

very interesting learning the history of cartier. long but solid audio book. would recommend to others.

The best is good enough!

The story in this book is superb and wonderfully narrated. My family are jewellers who were in operation during the timeframe written about in this book and it is great to read about how the times changed and how Cartier adapted. Such wonderful descriptions of the gems and the people who wore them. This book is the best I have read in years and I am about to read it again.

The best is good enough…..

Remarkable history on one of the first family businesses that achieved global scale! Highly recommended.