Among all the métiers associated with jewelry-making, the jeweler’s main craft is the setting of an item, translating the designer’s idea into three dimensions and thus imbuing it with life.
After a piece of jewelry is envisioned, the design drawing is passed to the bench jewelers. In the Cartier tradition, the design is drawn in gouache on tracing paper at a 1:1 scale to guide the artisan in crafting the item and interpreting its volume. This working document initiates an essential exchange between the designers and the artisans that continues throughout the process of realizing the piece.
Cartier upholds the highest standards at each step of the process. Faithfulness to design, harmony of the volume, and the wearer’s comfort are all fundamental requisites. But that is not all. Fine jewelry-making also regards the finesse of the metalwork to ensure the discretion and lightness of the setting so that each stone is able to sparkle in its full majesty. The final result is the product of ongoing collaboration between the bench jeweler and the other artisans in the atelier: lapidarists, polishers, gem-setters. All told, it takes several months to craft a Cartier creation, and around a year for the most exceptional pieces.
Prospective jewelers learn the métier very early, beginning their apprenticeships in the Maison’s workshops during their adolescent years. The young novices are guided by seasoned artisans to ensure the transmission of the savoir-faire from one generation to the next. They thus learn the methods and techniques exclusive to Cartier, which has stood true to its tradition of excellence for over a century and a half.