Of course, in the beginning, it was a relatively modest affair, but by the late 1850s, Cartier had its first royal client, Princess Mathilde Bonaparte, niece of Napoleon Bonaparte, who commissioned the jeweler to design brooches, earrings and other accessories.Under the leadership of Louis-François’s son, Alfred, who took over in 1874, business boomed. Nevertheless, it was the year Louis-François Cartier (1819–1904) - who was born into poverty - founded his eponymous empire, assuming control of the workshop of watchmaker Adolphe Picard, under whom he had previously been employed as an assistant. Perhaps 1847 was not the ideal time to open a new watchmaking and jewelry business, as the French Revolution was not kind to the aristocracy who could afford such luxuries.
Cartier love bracelet thin serial number#
Every Cartier Love ring is stamped with its metal type, serial number and ring size. Today, the ring is available in a variety of models: from a simple 18-karat yellow-gold wedding band to an 18-karat pink-gold ring inlaid with six brilliant-cut diamonds. (Subsequent variations of the bracelet were embellished with diamonds and sapphires.) The ring was originally dotted with miniature faux screwheads that mirrored those of the groundbreaking modernist cuff before it - not only referencing the series’ playful signature characteristic but also prominently underscoring the theme of permanence that Cipullo had in mind when he conceived of the design. When the Love ring was introduced, it boasted little in the way of ornamentation, much like the bracelet that launched the line. It’s long been reported that the Love collection is the brand’s most popular and largest series, as Cartier has since augmented the line with cufflinks and watches, too. Following the immense success of the Love bracelet, Cartier went on to produce earrings, necklaces and, perhaps most obviously, rings. In its understated, unisex design, which simultaneously seemed to take aim at conventional ideas about fashion, sexuality, love and romance at once, particularly as city streets and college campuses of the era were engulfed in social unrest, the Love bracelet became an instant classic. And, of course, there’s the bracelet itself: Modeled after a medieval chastity belt, Cipullo designed the cuff in two halves to be locked or unlocked with “a special vermeil screwdriver” - according to Cartier’s print advertisements at the time - that one’s lover would keep on hand.
The brand’s much-publicized emergence of Italian jeweler Aldo Cipullo (1942–84), who created the Love bracelet not at the brand’s headquarters in Paris, but in its New York City workshop, was indicative that change had come. With respect to traditions at the acclaimed French luxury jewelry house, Cartier had a policy that mandated anonymity of its designers, so the names of its in-house artisans weren’t known outside the firm. Transgressive may not be the first word that comes to mind when you think of Cartier's Love ring, but when the collection was designed in 1969, it was immediately understood as radical and provocative.
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