Cartier has reopened its six storey flagship showroom in Paris after a “reimagining” overseen by three separate teams of architects.
The landmark store and spiritual home of Cartier at 13 Paix has 40 sales associates in 10 salons, plus a fully equipped workshop where 37 artisans create, service and restore jewellery, watches and art.
Enough about the numbers, this is a temple to the artistry of Cartier — past, present and future.
An introduction to the house of Cartier is best made by president and CEO Cyrille Vigneron, who describes it as: “the place of origin and collective memory”.
He calls the Paris location part of a trio of “temples” that includes New Bond Street in London and 5th Avenue in New York.
“The new building unveiled today belongs to no one period in time but respects them all. It favours no one style but celebrates them all. A free and theatrical interpretation of Parisian codes, it offers a sublimated, poetic and timeless version of the capital, its rooftops, its perspectives and its secret treasures,” Mr Vigneron suggests, as only a Cartier president can.
13 Paix is the birthplace of Cartier in Paris, the first address in the city for the business of Louis Cartier and his father Alfred back in 1899.
Its refurbishment has been a project of Olympian complexity fused with Cartier artistry and then distilled down into a single building that reveals itself, as all great plays do, in three acts.
Entering from 13 Rue de la Paix, visitors will be greeted by a concierge who will guide them to their destination.
The ground floor space is designed to draw people to the back of the boutique where there is an inner courtyard taking natural light all the way from the roof of the building and showing off the interior detail and balconies of the upper floors.
The ground, first and second floors are dedicated to retail lounges where customers can browse Cartier’s watches and jewellery or take private consultations in a number of discreet spaces.
The floors were overseen by the Moinard Bétaille agency, which has been designing and fitting out Cartier boutiques for over twenty years.
Small salons offer privacy and time to appreciate some priceless Cartier objects such as Jean Cocteau’s sword, produced in 1955, set with emerald, ruby, diamond, ivory, onyx, enamel, gold and silver, which is found in a deep blue wood-panelled Jean Cocteau Salon.
Another is the Louis Cartier Salon, which houses a collection
of rare books and archives.
Up a sweeping staircase, the first floor is dedicated to bridal jewellery and the second is devoted to Cartier’s haute jewelry.
From the third floor up to the fifth, Cartier has created a living museum celebrating the maison’s spirit, art and heritage; a place where visitors can mix with artisans working within the space.
Architects Laurène Barbier Tandrew and Romain Jourdain from Studioparisien, oversaw this refurbishment, giving it a more contemporary feel with soft furnishings and a blend of open and more intimate spaces.
The ultimate invitation will be to the fifth floor residence, where Laura Gonzalez has designed and created a living space with a reception, dining room, salon, large kitchen and a winter garden designed by Bruno Moinard that is open to the Parisian air.
