Nelly Harjes married Jacques Cartier on 26 December 1912, the day after Christmas, at the American Church of Paris. It was a small, intimate ceremony, led by a minister from Ohio.
Nelly accompanied Jacques across the globe throughout their married life. The couple travelled from New York to Paris, Egypt to India, following the routes that Jacques traced in pursuit of gemstones and clients for the firm. Together they settled at Milton Heath, a country house in Dorking, Surrey, within reach of Cartier London on 175 New Bond Street.
On 13 March 1935, Jacques collapsed with hemorrhages on arriving at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay. Nelly telegraphed his brothers Pierre and Louis in fear. It would be his last trip to India. Jacques never fully recovered, and he died on 10 September 1941, aged fifty-seven.
Among Jacques and Nelly's children was Jean-Jacques Cartier (1919-2010), who would go on to run Cartier London and whose creative direction produced watches that are now among the firm's most recognised designs.
Sources
- Francesca Cartier Brickell, The Cartiers (Ballantine Books, 2019), ch. 4 ("Jacques, 1906-1919") and ch. 7 ("Precious London: Late 1920s").
