foversta
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The charm of the Xmas atmosphere of the Cartier Boutique rue de la Paix
As you know, the Rue de la Paix is the most prestigious luxury street of Paris. And its most famous location is without any doubt the Cartier boutique. It is easy to explain why. First of all, Cartier opened this boutique in 1899 what makes it the oldest one still active. It is not the first boutique since Louis-François Cartier started its jewelry business at the rue Montorgueil in 1847. Alfred Cartier moved to this curent location several decades after these first steps and a transfer at the Rue Neuve des Petits Champs where the first Cartier pocket watches were sold.
And second reason, it is beautiful. Actually, it is not only a question of lay-out, furnitures, materials. I love this boutique because you feel the Cartier spirit and history inside. When you enter it, you enter much more than a point of sale. It's almost a living museum but with a very busy staff especially on Saturday afternoon when I visited it. To make you understand why the place is special, you have to know that on top of the boutique, on the 4th floor, the high jewelry workshop produces some of the finest and most exclusive pieces of the Cartier collection. To be honest with you, I felt that the boutique is more oriented toward Jewelry than Horology even if a wide range of the timepieces of the current catalogue is available. But the most important is the atmosphere it releases.
Several days ago, Cartier decorated the boutique with Xmas ornaments. I couldn't miss the opportunity to visit it in this context. The combo between the magic of Xmas with the prestige and beauty of the boutique creates a charming scenery. I propose you to discover it thanks to the pictures I took yesterday. Ready to accompany me?
The noisy Rue de la Paix seems far when you enter the boutique: you need to pass through two doors before reaching the main room of the boutique:
And second reason, it is beautiful. Actually, it is not only a question of lay-out, furnitures, materials. I love this boutique because you feel the Cartier spirit and history inside. When you enter it, you enter much more than a point of sale. It's almost a living museum but with a very busy staff especially on Saturday afternoon when I visited it. To make you understand why the place is special, you have to know that on top of the boutique, on the 4th floor, the high jewelry workshop produces some of the finest and most exclusive pieces of the Cartier collection. To be honest with you, I felt that the boutique is more oriented toward Jewelry than Horology even if a wide range of the timepieces of the current catalogue is available. But the most important is the atmosphere it releases.
Several days ago, Cartier decorated the boutique with Xmas ornaments. I couldn't miss the opportunity to visit it in this context. The combo between the magic of Xmas with the prestige and beauty of the boutique creates a charming scenery. I propose you to discover it thanks to the pictures I took yesterday. Ready to accompany me?
The noisy Rue de la Paix seems far when you enter the boutique: you need to pass through two doors before reaching the main room of the boutique:
The main room of the boutique and the famous stairs which lead to the first floor, dedicated to the after-sale services. Quality of services is key at Cartier and I can testify this by the way the visitors are welcome at the boutique.
I love the proximity between the Xmas ornaments and the jewels:
A typical sales room, everything was designed in order that the customers and visitors feel comfortable:
The High Horology section:
The displays are perfectly integrated into the wooden furnitures:
Walking up the stairs...
The famous Cartier groom, one of the famous characters of Cartier world! Only the Panther is missing!
The Xmas tree on the foreground and a portrait of Alfred Cartier on the background. Louis Cartier, one of Alfred's sons, gave a new ambition and dynamic to the company which very quickly at the beginning of the XXth Century initiated its international expansion by opening branches in London or NY.
A view from the first floor:
Do you notice how the Xmas ornaments follow the structure of the boutique? These central stairs seem to have been a part of the boutique from the starting point. Actually, they were installed quite recently when renovation works were done in 2005. The architect who redesigned the boutique to double the surface dedicated to customers is Sylvain Dubuisson.
The Cartier fragrances:
Let's go back to the ground floor. This room was dedicated during the first part of the XXth Century to sell pearls.
Another superb room, buying a jewel or a watch in such scenery gives automatically a different dimension to the act of purchase.
This is a very important room because it was actually Louis Cartier's office! We can imagine all the creations, the decisions, the projects which were imagined in this specific room!
Louis Cartier:
An other important portrait can be seen in the adjoining room: Jean Cocteau and his famous Academician's sword designed by Cartier.
Obviously, I couldn't leave the boutique without putting some watches on the wrist. Since this boutique is the perfect evidence of Louis Cartier's ambition and success, I decided to wear two watches which are, at least for me, close to his spirit and design principles.
This Tank "Regulateur" with wandering hours on top of the dial is one of them. Originality, elegance, typical Tank case, this watch is pure beauty. I will come back to it with details later.
This Tank "Regulateur" with wandering hours on top of the dial is one of them. Originality, elegance, typical Tank case, this watch is pure beauty. I will come back to it with details later.
In front of the stairs:
Even if logically rectangular watches come to our mind, the Ronde Louis Cartier is also typical of the Cartier's style with the apple-shaped hands, the dial guillochage and the large roman figures. This watch is very elegant even if I find it too large for its purpose (42mm).
Again in front of the stairs... while taking this picture with Alfred Cartier behind the Xmas tree, I was thinking about the history of the company and its growth in the XXth Century. I finally managed to catch the reason why I love these premises. They gather at the same time the atmosphere of the first steps of the true ambition embodied by Louis Cartier and the current dynamic of the brand. Past, present and future, all together in the same location.
I would like to thank a lot the Cartier staff for the warm welcome during a very busy afternoon! It was a pleasure to listen to the explanations by Alberto about the history of this boutique. If you are in Paris, be sure to pay a visit to this place, you will enter a piece of the history of not only Cartier but also of Paris.
Fr.Xavier
Fr.Xavier
This message has been edited by foversta on 2014-12-21 13:28:26
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The charm of the Xmas atmosphere of the Cartier Boutique rue de la Paix
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Thanks Melvyn for your comments!
And thanks for these old pics! Things changed (and so the prices!) but the spirit remains! Fx
