Rest in Peace, legendary Cartier designer Alfred Durante

From the moment I met the legendary Cartier designer Alfred Durante, he welcomed me like family. How to sum up this creative and generous man in a few words? “I knew it was you when I saw you walking down the street” were the first words he uttered as he opened the door with a warm smile. “You had to be a Cartier – I recognize your features!”. And that was the thing about Alfred, he’d started out at Cartier NY in the 1950s so had known my family first-hand.

Over many chats that followed, Alfred patiently answered an endless stream of questions. I was researching the story of The Cartiers and he always made time to help: he showed me this flower brooch sketch he’d drawn aged 16 at his Cartier interview and shared outrageous anecdotes of working for the dashing Claude Cartier (the son of Louis, Claude was my g-father’s cousin who sold Cartier NY in 1962 without telling his family).

Alfred described growing up in the design studio above the 5thAve showroom, apprenticing under top French designers, and designing jewels for the #duchessofwindsor#elizabethtaylor and #marilynmonroe “To say I was intimidated at first would be putting it mildly… But I found they became comfortable, and I became comfortable, when I learned to let them do the talking, and responded with my sketches, giving life to their jewelry dreams.”

After leaving Cartier as VP of Design & Production, #alfreddurante became a successful independent designer. “I’m so grateful to your family” he said in his modest way, “how else could a boy from Brooklyn have all these opportunities?”

He was fascinating to speak to because his career spanned decades of vast change in America, at Cartier and in the luxury industry. But more than that, he was kind and fun and he became a friend.

The last time I saw Alfred was when The Cartiers was released. He came to a NY launch event with husband Will and was the last to leave – clutching his book copy, supportive to the end. Later, when we went for a quiet lunch uptown, he told me – like a father-figure - how proud he was and how the story had needed to be told. It meant so much coming from him and I miss him enormously.

Rest in peace, Alfred Durante 1937-2022