Who Owns Cartier?

Cartier is a French luxury goods company based in Paris, France, offering jewelry, leather goods, and watches. The company brand was established in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier. Cartier releases its latest watches at the Watches and Wonders annual event.

In Apr 2023, the company presented two new Tank Louis Cartier versions. Both watches feature the brand’s minimalist design in an expressive color scheme, 750 yellow or pink gold, and Tank’s characteristic Roman numerals. They retail at around $14,400. [1]

Cartier is one of the world’s leading watch brands. The company has refined its design for over 175 years. In May 2024, the Cartier Prize for Watchmaking Talents of Tomorrow opened its 2024 call for applications.

The award recognizes apprentice watchmakers in Switzerland, France, Germany, and Belgium. Since 1995, the Cartier Prize has nurtured watchmaking talent and ensured the continuity of savoir-faire and craftsmanship. [2]

Cartier is known for its watches. However, the brand also designs and manufactures jewelry and leather goods. The company uses several strategies to reach its target audience – wealthy consumers seeking luxury products.

In May 2024, Cartier held its annual Met Gala pre-party at Bemelmans. The event attracted celebrities, including Demi Moore, Jessica Biel, Elle Fanning, and Sofia Coppola. They donned Cartier’s masterpieces, like the Chloris necklace with 7.87 carats of emeralds, to promote the brand. [3]

Cartier offers several watch models, including Santos, Panthère, and the Tank. The Santos was the world’s first wristwatch. It is more masculine than Panthère and the Tank. Stars like Micheal Ward, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Cruise, and Jake Gyllenhaal wear the Cartier Santos.

In Apr 2024, Cartier released the new Santos de Cartier Dual Time. This all-steel, gray-dialed watch displays two time dials on the same screen, ideal for tracking two time zones. But who owns Cartier? [4]

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Who is Cartier’s Parent Company?

Cartier is a wholly owned brand of Compagnie Financière Richemont, a Swiss luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by Johann Rupert. However, Cartier is just one of dozens of Richemont brands. The parent company is listed and traded on the Swiss SIX Exchange and South Africa’s JSE. It operates in three business areas: Jewelry, Specialist Watchmakers, and Fashion & Accessories. [5]

Cartier is under Richemont’s Jewelry division, with Buccellati and Van Cleef & Arpels. The parent company also owns A. Lange & Söhne, Baume & Mercier, Piaget, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Roger Dubuis, Vacheron Constantin, Alaïa, AZ Factory, Delvaux, Chloé, Dunhill, Gianvito Rossi, Montblanc, and Peter Millar.

In May 2024, Richemont acquired Vhernier in a private transaction. Vhernier will join Cartier, Buccellati, and Van Cleef & Arpels in the Jewelry division. [6]

Richemont is one of the world’s largest luxury groups. The company sells products globally. In Q4 2023, Richemont reported a 25% increase in sales in China. The growth was driven by the company’s valuable luxury brands. Richemont’s top competitor, LVMH, recorded a 9% sales growth in Oct 2023. [7]

Richemont is streamlining its portfolio to focus on its core brands. The company agreed to sell its Yoox Net-A-Porter online fashion and accessories business to Farfetch for cash and 58.5 million Farfetch shares. However, Farfetch seeks to go private after a troubled NYSE listing.

This development threatens Richemont’s deal with Farfetch. In Nov 2023, Richemont announced that it wouldn’t inject cash into Farfetch to save the British company from delisting. Richemont may have to find another buyer for Yoox Net-A-Porter if Farfetch is delisted from the NYSE. [8]

Image Credit: Raygar He

Cartier Ownership History

Louis-François Cartier founded Cartier in 1847 in Paris, France. He was Cartier’s original sole owner. The founder established Cartier as a luxury jewelry and watch brand. In 1899, Alfred Cartier, son of Louis-François Cartier, took over the business.

The elongated Tank Américaine was launched that same year, extending the Tank Cintrée line. The company created the first Santos-Dumont watch in 1904 as a gift to Louis’ friend Alberto Santos-Dumont, a pioneer in aviation who migrated from Brazil and settled in Paris.

Cartier expanded into the US in 1909 after Pierre, grandson of Louis-François, established the brand’s presence in New York. The company introduced the Tank Américaine watch.

It featured the first adjustable strap adapted to the folding buckle, patented by Cartier in 1910. Tank Américaine was revised for 2023 with a finer, more acrobatic line than its original curved designs. Inside is the new 1899 MC movement for slimmer cases. [9]

Cartier divests some of its international holdings between the 1940’s and 1950’s. The brand entered a tumultuous period in 1964 after Pierre Cartier passed away. Pierre’s daughter, Marion, and his nephews, Jean-Jacques and Claude, sold each branch of the business to a different parent company.

The Continental Business Syndicate, led by Robert Hocq, acquired Cartier Paris in 1972. The group bought Cartier London and Cartier New York and reunified them under Cartier Monde. [10]

Nathalie Hocq became president of Cartier after her father, Robert Hocq, died. She remained with the company until 1983. In 1993, Vendôme Luxury Group acquired a majority stake in Cartier. Richemont owned 70% of Vendôme at the time. In 1998, Richemont bought the remaining 30% of Vendôme.

The parent company increased its stake in Cartier to 100% between 1998 and 2012. As a wholly owned Richemont brand, Cartier continued to shine globally. In 2018, Cartier revamped the Santos line, delivering a sportier model. [11]

Image Credit: Simon Launay

Cartier’s Shareholder Structure

Cartier is a wholly owned Richemont brand. Richemont is a public company trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. As of Dec 2023, Compagnie Financière Richemont had 537,582,089 “A” shares and 537,582,089 “B” shares. Each share class has one vote each. Stock A includes 530,778,787 free-float shares. [12]

Richemont is linked to Compagnie Financière Rupert, the investment firm of founder Johann Rupert and his family. As of 2023, Compagnie Financière Rupert owned 6,418,850 “A” shares and 537,582,089 “B” registered shares.

These stakes represent 10% of the equity of Richemont and 51% of the voting rights. Although Richemont is a public company, it is majority-owned and controlled by Compagnie Financière Rupert. In a sense, Johann Rupert and his family own Cartier. [13]

Richemont’s “A” shares are owned by institutional owners and retail investors. The top 25 shareholders hold a 37% stake in the company. In Oct 2023, Johann Rupert was Richemont’s largest shareholder with 9.1%, followed by Vanguard Group at 3.3% and Blackrock, Inc. at 2.7%. The general public holds a 52% stake in Compagnie Financière Richemont, ahead of institutions at 38%. [14]

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