It was way back in 1847 that Louis-François Cartier named his jewellery
brand. Leaving modesty aside, he quite rightly called his Maison Cartier
the “Jeweller of Kings and the King of Jewellers”, a title it has kept
to this day. At the beginning of the 20th century, Louis Cartier, the
founder’s grandson who was in charge of the Paris branch, realised that
success could flow in many directions. He accepted a challenge from a
friend, Albert Santos-Dumont, a pioneer in flying, who ordered a wrist
watch from him. In 1904, he created the first model of a wristwatch,
which was launched seven years later under the name Santos. It was
followed by other watches - Tonneau, Tortue and Tank all of which are
now modern icons.