Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Cartiers cover art

The Cartiers

By: Francesca Cartier Brickell
Narrated by: Hattie Morahan
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

"Our Crowd" cover art
Vanderbilt cover art
Mr Horniman's Walrus cover art
The House of Gucci cover art
Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin cover art
The Rothschilds cover art
David Copperfield cover art
Astor cover art
American Empress cover art
The Indigo Girl cover art
News of the World cover art
The King is Dead, Long Live the King! cover art
Hero of Two Worlds cover art
The Great Bridge cover art
The Wright Brothers cover art
Buddenbrooks cover art

Summary

“A dynamic group biography studded with design history and high-society dash . . . [This] elegantly wrought narrative bears the Cartier hallmark.”—The Economist

The “astounding” (André Leon Talley) story of the family behind the Cartier empire and the three brothers who turned their grandfather’s humble Parisian jewelry store into a global luxury icon—as told by a great-granddaughter with exclusive access to long-lost family archives

“Ms. Cartier Brickell has done her grandfather proud.”—The Wall Street Journal

The Cartiers is the revealing tale of a jewelry dynasty—four generations, from revolutionary France to the 1970s. At its heart are the three Cartier brothers whose motto was “Never copy, only create” and who made their family firm internationally famous in the early days of the twentieth century, thanks to their unique and complementary talents: Louis, the visionary designer who created the first men’s wristwatch to help an aviator friend tell the time without taking his hands off the controls of his flying machine; Pierre, the master dealmaker who bought the New York headquarters on Fifth Avenue for a double-stranded natural pearl necklace; and Jacques, the globe-trotting gemstone expert whose travels to India gave Cartier access to the world’s best rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, inspiring the celebrated Tutti Frutti jewelry.

Francesca Cartier Brickell, whose great-grandfather was the youngest of the brothers, has traveled the world researching her family’s history, tracking down those connected with her ancestors and discovering long-lost pieces of the puzzle along the way. Now she reveals never-before-told dramas, romances, intrigues, betrayals, and more.

The Cartiers also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the firm’s most iconic jewelry—the notoriously cursed Hope Diamond, the Romanov emeralds, the classic panther pieces—and the long line of stars from the worlds of fashion, film, and royalty who wore them, from Indian maharajas and Russian grand duchesses to Wallis Simpson, Coco Chanel, and Elizabeth Taylor.

Published in the two-hundredth anniversary year of the birth of the dynasty’s founder, Louis-François Cartier, this book is a magnificent, definitive, epic social history shown through the deeply personal lens of one legendary family.

©2019 Francesca Cartier Brickell (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A human story—one even the unadorned will read with pleasure.—The New York Times

“Extraordinary.”—The Spectator

“Dramatic.”—The Economist

What listeners say about The Cartiers

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    46
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    43
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    43
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating historical account of a world brand.

Most of us will never own a cartier piece of jewellery but my appreciation of quality increased tenfold after listening to this story about an iconic brand.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I loved it!

The story is beautifully read and a very interesting story. I would highly recommend to anyone that loves jewellery

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful history

I absolutely loved listening to the story of the Cartier family. I work in the antique jewellery trade and the perfectly graphic descriptions of the bygone eras really captured my imagination. I really enjoyed the narrator’s cut-glass accent too. Perfect for a quiet Sunday afternoon with a glass of wine.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Cartiers

This is by far the best audible book I have ever listened to. So much so you didn’t want to put it on as you didn’t want it to end. Going through each generation at a time instead of jumping back and forth. (Other books take notice). From the start to finish BRILLIANT. And brilliant narration aswell.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous and powerful

The notator of this book exceeds all expectations. The story like is gripping and the history of this world brand is phenomenal. It feels like you are being transported into the world and life of Cartier. It’s a beautifully written and told book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Phenomenal

(As a millennial) I found great delightful to learn of how much has happened before my parents where born and what has taken place prior to my own birth. As an artist this helps both salute those who have dedicated themselves through different walks of life to be the best within their craft & sharpen my own vision of the future I will create, Thank you.
A worth while listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best Book I've Consumed

It goes to show what we can accomplish with a dedicated team around us. Come war or depression they rose to challenge every time. This needs to become a movie!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Powerful and fascinating

What an amazing book well done to the author and superb narration. Best book I’ve listened to so far

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible

Wow what a book!
An incredible depiction of the life and times of the Cartiers and their business, as a jeweller myself, it is hugely inspiring and as a fan of Cartier, there is nothing better than this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very good read

I really enjoyed this book and the narration was spot on. Lovely voice. The story is a wonderful saga of this family and the incredible changing times they lived through. Amazing tales of fabulous wealth of their customers and dedication to beauty and excellence of the Cartier brothers.
It’s a perfect audiobook. I’m finding long books ideal to listen to rather to read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!