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Know-How
A SAVOIR-FAIRE THAT INSPIRES EXCEPTIONAL CREATIONS
At Cartier, savoir-faire is what connects an idea with its final form, creativity with expertise, style with the art of making. It's a connection that symbolizes the spirit of dialogue and sharing that is present between the designers and artisans. Invisible yet ever present, and committed to a perpetual dynamic of evolution, Cartier savoir-faire allows for the exploration of new territories in a constant pursuit of beauty.
HIGH JEWELRY WORKSHOPS
Cartier is one of the only Maisons in the world to bring together every profession under the roof of their High Jewelry workshops: stone experts, designers from the Creation Studio, sculptors, jewelers, 3D designers, polishers, gem-setters, lapidaries, glypticians, casters, stringers, lacquerers, watchmakers, ring makers. Our artisans are the guarantors of authentic work and savoir-faire, some of which spans back several millennia and has been passed down from generation to generation. Today, they combine their talent and expertise with the most cutting-edge technology to create timeless pieces. This is an enduring standard that has always been present in the creation of Cartier jewelry, reflecting the Maison’s identity.
SCULPTURE & REALISM
For both flora and fauna, the subject is first brought to life by a sculptor who carves it out of wax by hand. The precision of their movements, their talent and their attention to detail all work in harmony to produce a realistic representation. This step is carried out in close collaboration with the designer and expert jeweler. Their attention is particularly focused on translating the expressiveness and movement of their subjects.
AN INGENUITY THAT ENABLES MOVEMENT AND PLAY
Cartier has been a pioneer since it first started using platinum in the creation of its jewelry and since its exploration into Style Moderne, well before Art Deco. Today, ingenuity is at the heart of each creative endeavor, a phenomenon best exemplified by the pieces themselves.
THE SEARCH FOR SUPPLENESS AND COMFORT
Comfort is at the center of everything we do. Designer and artisans ensure that their creations hug the body. They pay special attention to how the piece feels and the precision of the settings. The two challenges they face are to provide suppleness and movement while perfecting the visual aspect of the piece. It requires constant vigilance guided by ongoing analysis of the joints.
FRONT AND BACK
Creations that are beautiful on both sides. Designers and jewelers consider all the faces of an object as part of an inseparable whole, and this vision is a signature of the Maison. The jewelers take special care to hide the technical parts of the piece and work on the back of a creation in accordance with the overall design.
AN APPRECIATION FOR VERSATILITY
Versatility is central to the Cartier tradition. Due to the genius of their design, the transformable creations are a way of letting freedom come into play in the way they are worn. The central stone of a necklace becomes a brooch or a ring, a set can be divided into different pieces that can be worn by several people at one time. The artisans have only one goal: go beyond the constraints and produce a creation that is a joy to wear every day. From the most simple to the most spectacular, the systems and techniques are discreet and respect the aesthetics of the piece.
THE ART OF GLYPTICS
Glyptics is the art of engraving and sculpting hard stones. This rare artisanal technique has been carried on since 2010 by one of the last masters of glyptic art, Philippe Nicolas. Cartier is thus the only great jeweler who possesses this savoir-faire in-house and passes it on to its apprentices. This sought-after expertise earned the Maison the right to participate in 2018 and 2022 at the Homo Faber event in Venice, an international exhibition committed to promoting arts and crafts, their preservation, and their transmission.
FROM MASTER TO STUDENT, THE DESIRE TO TRANSMIT KNOWLEDGE
Committed to transmitting and perpetuating its savoir-faire, Cartier continuously develops new skills. Created in 2002, the Cartier Jewelry Institute in Paris offers its employees a continuous training program. The High Jewelry workshops collaborate with the Institute on a daily basis to share knowledge and innovation, such as the preservation of rare crafts like glyptics, the art of carving and sculpting hard stones and fine materials. For more than 150 years, Cartier has been a partner of the Haute Ecole de Joaillerie in Paris and, since 2019, has been the main sponsor of the Association des Maîtres d'Arts et de leurs Élèves.
SPECIAL ORDERS, A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE
For Cartier, special orders are an opportunity to offer clients a unique experience. An intimate conversation born from a desire for a certain stone, a particular motif or simply the desire to be guided and surprised; a rich and lively exchange that leads to a shared vision. Special orders involve Cartier’s style and expertise as well as all of its jewelry savoir-faire: from the design to the choice of stones, right up to the final polishing, everything is carried out with the same standards of excellence that characterize all of the Maison’s objects.
