Reviews
Recent reviews about the Cartiers
“Can’t Afford a Shopping Spree at Cartier? This Book Is the Next Best Thing... a human story — one even the unadorned will read with pleasure.”
"A dynamic group biography studded with design history and high-society dash...[Ms Cartier Brickell's] meticulous, elegantly wrought narrative bears the Cartier hallmark.”
The Economist
"'The tale of a clan united in single-minded dedication to the success of their enterprise with walk on parts from the world's most glamorous princesses, heiresses and maharajas... Ms Cartier Brickell has done her grandfather proud”
The Wall Street Journal
"Francesca Cartier Brickell’s art of weaving the [personal and historical] together…show her mastery as a born storyteller with quite a tale to tell."
Forbes
“Many books have been written over the years on Cartier, but none have delved so deep into the true story of the family behind the firm. When the late Hans Nadelhoffer published his pioneering history Cartier: Jewellers Extraordinary, he told me how much he regretted having to “work in the dark,” handicapped by the lack of personal information about the members of the family who created this international empire, synonymous with twentieth-century elegance and luxury. Thereafter, although the exhibitions on Cartier over recent decades have shown so many beautiful objects, almost all the people most responsible for designing, making, and selling them have remained in the shadows. Now the veil has been lifted and the real story of the creation of Cartier has finally emerged.”
Diana Scarisbrick, Jewelry Historian
“Francesca Cartier Brickell skillfully traces her family’s astounding history through the contents of a weathered suitcase found in her grandfather’s cellar. The result is a fascinating account of the Cartier brothers’ creation of their iconic and enduring luxury brand.”
"Behind all the dazzle is the story of a family that rose through the ranks to create a formidable jewellery empire, one step at a time - a narrative always told from a third-person perspective, until the release of The Cartiers, that is. As a sixth-generation Cartier, Francesca Cartier Brickell gives readers an exclusive behind-the-scenes insight into the rise of the brand birthed by her ancestors."
VOGUE
“The Cartier family had, for four generations, a ringside view of events that shaped the world as we know it.”
GQ
“The story of the family’s rise from simple artisans to originators, creators, super salesmen and friends to the rich and famous is extraordinary.”
The Spectator
"A mesmerising portrayal of early-20th-century social history, told through the lens of a single, now incredibly famous family."
Town & Country
“While the diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires are indeed stunning, it is the Cartier family characters who steal the show in this gem of a book.”
“Through the long-lost letters and journals of her ancestors, Francesca Cartier Brickell tells the intimate story of how her family’s business conquered the world of luxury in the face of revolution, wars, and global depression. The Cartiers is an enchanting jewel of a book.”
Douglas Smith
Author of Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy
“A French jewelry dynasty weathers war, financial collapse, and a trend toward casual fashions in this sparkling group biography. Brickell, great-great-great-granddaughter of Cartier’s founder, draws on family letters and records to recount the family-owned Cartier’s four-generation rise from a Paris jewelry shop to a global luxury brand that has outfitted movie stars, maharajas, princesses, and prostitutes…The result is an engrossing study of jewelry history and of high society at its flashiest, studded with entertaining anecdotes.”
Publishers Weekly Starred Review
“Involving gifted artists and crafty entrepreneurs, it offers everything bling-loving readers could want. Stories about fabulous diamonds, perfectly matched pearls, glittering tiaras, iconic watches, and other jaw-dropping adornments are intertwined with detailed accounts of family lore and business dealings, descriptions of myriad social events, displays of unimaginable wealth, and copious name-dropping: royals, movie stars, maharajas, mistresses, moguls, and other glitterati.”
Booklist Starred Review
“Four generations of genius, glamour, and ambition are laid bare in Brickell’s behind-the-scenes account of the Cartier family. Part social history, part affectionate memoir, The Cartiers is a pleasurable stroll through the glittering byways of a more elegant age.”
