How heavy is the weight of the legacy you are carrying today for Cartier?
You have to think of “legacy” as a springboard that helps you to grow further. Winston Churchill once said a very interesting quote when he said that the branches of a tree can’t grow further than the roots.
With such are a heritage and experience, 165 years in fact, you get a mastering of expertise and the workshop is a craft itself, where you accumulate experience from generation to generation. Now in 2015, we have all these past experiences. The golden age of high jewelry and haute horlogerie is now, because these past experiences are enabling people to go further. We don’t want to imitate what has been done in the past, on the contrary, we want to use them as a springboard to be more audacious and be known as pioneers in the way we create and surprise our clients.
We are noticing nowadays, a drive back to invest in high jewelry and brand is giving presentations and in a day or two the collection is sold out. Is this a healthy indication for you?
That’s right! This proves that women and men today are looking for reassurance and buying with the heart and also with the mind. They want to be able to explain to their kids and their friends why they made this acquisition with Cartier, because we have been the leaders in Auctions since 100 years. In Sotheby’s two years ago in Geneva, where the most expensive jewelry that was auctioned, was a Cartier Ruby ring for over 30 million Swiss Francs. The gentleman who bought this ring 10 years ago saw its price drastically multiplied after a decade. It shows that with Cartier, you can have something that you can pass on to the next generation or sell at an auction one day. You have to recognize something for its expertise. All of these combined, you have a piece of art that is timeless and universal, with this, you have a lighthouse in a storm that gives you all dimensions.
What are the challenges that the industry is facing today?
The challenge is to explain more to the clients how we are crafting and what we’re doing for them to understand better as there’s still a lot of mystery around haute horlogorie and high jewelry. Today 90% of men and women are buying jewelry with no name, which is a mistake. If you will pass it on to the next generation it will not be useful and if you want to sell at an auction it will only be worth the price of gold. With such circumstances, nothing beats the expertise that we have. We have a style that is recognizable, the best gemstones and 165 years of experience.
We met in SIHH and we spoke about the novelties at that time. Tell us how the market received Clé?
It was excellent. The feedback was Superb! It’s a watch that is a “Montre de forme” a shape watch that plays with the strength of Cartier and was very well received everywhere.
This collection is inspired by nature and translated through jewelry into pieces of art. How long did it take to work on these pieces? What was the design process?
It took 165 years to create, because it encompasses all the experience we have. This reminds me of a story that Pablo Picasso said when he met a couple that asked him to make a sketch of the wife, and after 30 minutes, the sketch turned out beautiful. The husband asked ‘how much do I owe you?’ Pablo Picasso quoted a very high number, and the husband did not understand why. And so, Picasso explained, ‘it took me 67 years to do it actually, not 30 minutes,’ referring to his lifetime of experience.
You started in a critical economic year in Europe, do you assess the market now?
It’s difficult to predict. The world has always been with ups and downs and whatever happens, Cartier always grows, because we bring reassurance and attraction whether it’s raining or there’s sunshine. People always need to spread fun and friendship, and we communicate to this idea.
If I ask you about endorsement, how important do you think it is?
The best endorsements are the clients and they have always been. To name a few like Elizabeth Taylor, Jacky kennedy and many more.
What’s in the pipeline for the Middle East?
There will be surprises!
What are you wearing now and why?
The Rotonde Mysterieuse watch. It has two hands rotating differently which is part of the Mystery, which we would never explain how it works! When you look at your watch, you say ‘my time is precious, my time is different’. It’s just extraordinary!
What’s your personal motto?
“Whatever it takes!”
What would you tell people about the man who’s leading this brand today?
My mission is to build further the legacy of Cartier and keep on surprising people. The Creations of Cartier today will be the treasures of tomorrow.
Interviewed by Lara Mansour Sawaya
