In the lead up to our unique Cartier Curated auction, our Head of Jewellery in London Sarah Duncan asked the author Rachael Taylor to share her thoughts on what Cartier means to her. In 2022 Rachael wrote Cartier: The Story Behind the Style, the success of which spawned a further three more books in the series. As a professional jewellery insider, author and editor in chief of one of the biggest trade publications, Rachael knows first hand the power and allure of the Cartier brand.
When I was approached by my publisher to write a book on Cartier, my reaction was, naturally, one of excitement, but also of caution. Of course, I knew the maison. Who doesn’t? It is the jeweller of kings, the originator of the Love bangle, the purveyor of those gold-edged, red boxes of dreams. But I wasn’t sure what new ground I could cover, or frankly, how excited I was to tread it. Cartier felt almost too famous. What could I possibly learn and write that hadn’t already been said?
Quite a lot, as it turns out.