It takes more than a name and a story to justify the price of this brand. There is a fairly long story background and some coincidences that happened in the past.
While most
people today use their cell phones to check the time, watches continue to be
sought-after accessories, especially luxury ones. They may say a lot about a
person, like how much money he hasa, or what his style and personality is.
Cartier makes some of the most expensive watches
in the world. Although now the brand is better known for its jewelery: it has
catered to an extensive list of celebrities and royals, even one of the Princes
of Wales referred to Cartier as “the jewelers of kings, the kings of
jewelers”. When an English aristocrat argues about a brand, that opinion
cannot be brushed aside.
But the company was born as a watchmaker. In fact,
he is credited with creating the first men’s wristwatch.
Cartier was founded in 1847 in Paris by Louis-François
Cartier, but it was his sons who later took it upon himself to turn it into a
global brand. In 1904, Brazilian aviator Alfred Santos-Dumont spoke with his
friend Louis Cartier about how impractical and uncomfortable it was for him to
wear pocket watches on his flights.
Cartier immediately took up the challenge and
designed a square-shaped flat watch to fit with a leather strap. The success of
the wristwatch came as soon as Santos Dumont started wearing it, extending its
popularity to the point of having to mass-produce it. It should be noted that
Patek Phillipe was the creator of the first watch of this type, but he made it
for a woman and made to measure. Here we can see the difference.
The celebrity watches
The popularity and prestige of Cartier watches continued to grow as it produced models such as the Cartier Tank watches, the first piece of which was introduced in 1918 inspired by the silhouette of a World War I tank.
The production of this model was very limited. In 1919, the first full year of production, Cartier made a total of six watches. According to CNN, it kept making it for many years in very small quantities, often less than a hundred per year. The Cartier Tank is considered one of the most imitated watches in the world.
And like all highly coveted luxury items, it didn’t take long to find itself on the wrists of the sphere’s most famous figures. The tank was one of the favorites of great figures of the fashion like Jackie Kennedy, the designer Yves Saint-Laurent and Princess Diana.
Of course, it takes more than a name and a story to justify the prices of this brand. Cartier originally used precious metals to make its watches. It wasn’t until 1978 that the company began producing steel watches.
But even with few gold mechanisms, people continued to view watches by Cartier as luxury items. After many years, their reputation remains strong.
So there you have it. Why are Cartier watches so expensive? The selection of high-quality materials, their history and the endorsement of highly influential people, such as the world’s most prestigious fashionistas, have brought the brand to a high point of influence, which translates into an expensive price.
