After discovering a trunk of family letters in her grandfather’s cellar, Francesca left her job in the city to research her family’s history, traveling all over the world and discovering long-lost pieces of the puzzle along the way.

This talk – which coincides with the launch of the French edition of Francesca’s book, Les Cartier, will share those discoveries with the audience, as Francesca takes them back in time, into the world of her ancestors in the early 20th century.

At its heart are the three Cartier brothers whose motto was “Never copy, only create” and who turned their grandfather’s modest Parisian shop into an international jewellery empire thanks to their unique and complementary talents: Louis, the visionary designer who created the first men’s wristwatch to help an aviator friend tell the time without taking his hands off the controls of his flying machine; Pierre, the master dealmaker who bought the New York headquarters on Fifth Avenue for a double-stranded natural pearl necklace; and Jacques, the globe-trotting gemstone expert whose travels to India gave Cartier access to the world’s best rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, inspiring the celebrated Tutti Frutti jewellery.

Join us for an unique evening with author Francesca Cartier Brickell to hear all about this captivating story. This will be a richly illustrated talk, sharing not only the stories behind the jewel, but images of the jewels and those who wore them as well.

Biography of the speaker

Francesca Cartier Brickell (@creatingcartier) is a graduate ofin English Literature from Oxford University, and a direct descendant of the Cartier family. Her great-great-great-grandfather founded Cartier in 1847. Her late grandfather Jean-Jacques Cartier was the last of the family to manage and own a branch of the world-famous firm. Francesca is a sought-after international lecturer on Cartier’s illustrious history, and has given talks for major auction houses, museums, and societies. Francesca lives with her husband and two children in Oxford and the South of France.

Timing:

18:30 > Welcome

19:00 – 20:00 > Conference + Q&A

20:00 – 21:00 > Bar

Jewellery image courtesy of LA Collection privée