Five Reasons Behind Cartier’s Enduring Success

Cartier needs no introduction, the famed maison founded in Paris in 1847 is so iconic that it lets its signature calling card, its red box, do all the talking. Whether you’re receiving an engagement ring, timepiece, or something in-between, the moment you catch a glimpse of that box, it’s over. You’ve officially arrived.

During Watches & Wonders, we had the opportunity to sit down with Arnaud Carrez, Cartier’s International Marketing and Communications Director. What was supposed to be a 15-minute chat turned into an hour-long masterclass on the Art of Luxury and joie de vivre, which Cartier embodies.

For this writer, there were five key takeaways from our insightful conversation with Mr. Carrez that are worth sharing.

If the last year has taught us anything, it's that adaptation is key to the survival of any species or company. Before the lockdowns, there was much doom and gloom written about the luxury watch industry. Fortunately, the watch industry survived the global health situation relatively unscathed.

Carrez explained Cartier’s approach to the last year, “It's been challenging, but [still an] exciting year for us. One year ago, we didn't know where we were heading. We were well, doing Plan A, Plan B, Plan C and making many adjustments to adapt ourselves. But looking at where we are now, I think Cartier has reinforced its position over the last year.”
 

Like many brands, Watchonista included, the period of March through June 2020 was quiet, but Carrez remarked, “Starting from last July, we could see an acceleration, and the last months have been positive. So I'm happy about our results, despite these challenging times. It shows that the overall strategy we developed and implemented several years ago was the right one.”
 

As you may have seen on Watchonista and throughout social media, Cartier has double down on its embrace of digital. This recalibration to digital was met at the perfect intersection of increased disposable income due to people not eating out, traveling, or spending money on experiences. Coupled with increased visits to online and social media, Cartier has seemed to navigate this new reality smoothly.
 

Carrez explained, “It’s true! We've been embracing all digital means, and many projects were going on, like our client-centric digital transformation. It all started before the crisis. But COVID has accelerated these digital transformations. Now we see triple-digit growth over the last year with e-commerce. Our boutiques are doing extremely well despite being only open upon on an appointment basis.”
 

But Cartier isn’t stopping there, as Carrez added, “Things are changing very rapidly. It's good for customers who’ve been adapting themselves. Spending time on digital platforms to discover, search, and be more knowledgeable about brands and products. So, it's good. It's positive for [Watchonista] as well.”
 

How do you innovate and refine your products without jumping the shark? It is a constant challenge in the world of watchmaking. In the last year, we have seen everything from yellow ceramic to cases made to replicate the look of red hot lava. And while some brands manage to pull this off, Cartier stays true to its color theory.
 

When I asked Carrez how Cartier stays true to this design philosophy, he replied, “I would say, first and foremost, by being true to who we are. And when we look at our mission, the values, and design codes, we have some colors that we've been using year after year. The combination of red, blue, and green is part of our stylistic vocabulary. So we are very careful about finding the relevant colors and being first and foremost a designer of unexpected shapes.”
 

He continued, saying, “We want to ensure that our color palette matches the design of the watch, which is something we pay very close attention to. For example, in the new color animations on Ballon Bleu, the colors are very soft, very ambiguous, but consistent with the style of the watch. We look at the balance between the case between the color of the timepieces. This is of high importance for the maison’s creative studio.”