Cartier’s First ‘Poinçon’ (Maker’s Mark)

Today, 17th April 2021, marks the day of Prince Philip’s funeral. It’s been moving watching the coverage — a beautiful farewell and celebration of an extraordinary life.

Looking back on a life well lived (see previous post) reminds me that 17 April also marks another man’s legacy… 174 years ago today, #LouisFrancoisCartier registered his first maker’s mark, essentially signifying the beginning of Cartier.

As any entrepreneur knows, however, in many ways the formal registration of a business name or symbol isn’t really the beginning. The reality for the 27-year-old Louis-Francois was that his long journey had started over a decade earlier during gruelling years as a poorly paid, overworked, jeweller’s apprentice. But the registration of this maker’s mark — a lozenge shape incorporating his initials separated by an Ace of Hearts — symbolised an fundamental step forwards in an ambitious man’s journey, a sliding doors moment that would not only change the course of his life, but also that of his descendants and the thousands of people who would go on to work for #Cartier.

I have often wondered about the significance behind the Ace of Hearts. There’s the play on words (in French, a ‘cartier’ means a maker of playing cards) and maybe, like his g-g-g-g-grandchildren (my kids!), he enjoyed a good card game, but why the Ace of Hearts specifically? Ideas welcome….the romantic in me likes to think perhaps it reflects the love he had for his family (‘I am your devoted father and friend’ he wrote to his son, ‘you and I are inseparable’) and the importance he placed on kindness (‘be very kind’ was his advice for the next generations).

Whatever the reason, I rather love this symbol’s simplicity and symmetry — both features that would come to represent the Cartier style. And while I can’t imagine that 174 yrs ago Louis-Francois had any inkling of the troubles that lay ahead (just a few months later, his business would almost be wiped out by violent revolution) or the extent of the inspirational legacy he would leave behind, I do hope that he took the time to celebrate the success of making it that far (even if only with a family game of cards…)

Originally published at https://www.the-cartiers.com on April 17, 2021.