Why Cartier remains a success story – it relies on iconic products with timeless looks just like Rolex and Hermès, CEO says
- Cartier has come out of the pandemic almost unscathed, and its CEO and president Cyrille Vigneron believes it is down to its focus on timeless products
- The war in Ukraine has forced jewellers to re-examine their supply chains, Vigneron says; Cartier has made a stand over a Russia-controlled diamond supplier
By the time Cyrille Vigneron became the president and chief executive of Cartier in 2016, the French jeweller and watchmaker had lost a bit of its lustre.
“Back in 2015-2016, Cartier was seen as an ageing brand – something good for your mother or aunt, outdated and not for the younger generations,” he says of the crown jewel of the Richemont Group – the luxury conglomerate that also owns brands such as Van Cleef & Arpels and Jaeger-LeCoultre.
The thinking at the time, he explains in an interview from Geneva, Switzerland, was that you had to release endless new products to appeal to millennials and Gen-Z consumers, and you had to always be on the lookout for the next cool thing. He was adamant, however, that it was the wrong strategy, especially for a brand like Cartier.
“It was a question of what the brand represents and going back to what makes it distinctive,” he says.
Founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier, the company boasts iconic designs both in its jewellery and watchmaking divisions. From the Love and Juste un Clou bracelets to the Tank and Panthère watches, Cartier’s repertoire of timeless pieces is easily recognisable and has achieved cult status among luxury lovers.
