Cartier—the king of jewelry 珠宝皇者：卡地亚

老牌中的极品卡地亚 （Cartier）1847年于巴黎诞生，创始人为路易斯·弗朗索瓦·卡地亚（Louis Francois Cartier,1857—1942）。专攻珠宝及手表工艺。它最有名的是1904年为一位飞机师所做的第一只腕表桑托斯（Santos）！ 同年，爱德华七世将它封为第一皇家授权供应商，为英国法院服务。

卡地亚的客户非富则贵，不是豪门就是皇室。1907年，卡地亚在伦敦、纽约及圣彼得堡已有分店；1948年温莎公爵夫人佩戴的豹形系列首饰成为卡地亚另一大标记！ 到了1964年，卡地亚家族将公司卖给瑞士历峰集团，一直至今。说起它的表，除了桑托斯外，坦克（Tank）腕表也非常著名，它于1917年诞生，灵感来自战争机器。其后女装腕表也流行起来，渐渐手表成为热潮，一时成为贵族恩物。

值得一提的是，第一只防水表也是卡地亚1931年在巴黎发明的。而第二次世界大战期间，不锈钢材料又成为卡地亚的新元素。2004年，为庆祝100周年，卡地亚将桑托斯系列以“桑托斯100”之名面世。总而言之，它是酷、财富及地位的化身。无数名人都喜爱它的首饰，包括张国荣、舒淇、徐静蕾、范冰冰、滨崎步、帕里斯·希尔顿等。

2014年，卡地亚在中国已有80多家店；在香港购买卡地亚的最佳去处是中环太子大厦。

The superb brand Cartier was founded in France 1847. The founder was named Louis Francois Cartier (1857 - 1942) who specialized in manufacturing jewelry and watch. The most famous masterpiece he made was a wrist watch created for a pilot and the watch was called Santos. In the same year, Edward VII granted Maison Cartier the first Royal warrant as supplier to the court of England.

In short, only the nobleman and royal families could afford to buy the luxury brand. In 1907, Cartier had already had shops in London, New York and St Petersburg. In 1948, the most remarkable artifact was made for Dutchess of Winsor as it was an accessory which was like a panther form, and that became a classic image! Till 1964, the business was acquired by Campagnie Financiere Richemont to date. Other than Santos, Tank watch was also very reputable. It was created in 1917 as it was inspired by a machine in war time. Afterwards, ladies wrist watch design was also invented and became popular in noble.

Also the first water proof watch was created by Cartier in France 1931. And during World War II, stainless steel became a new material for Cartier to develop new product. Further, in 2004, Cartier celebrated 100 years of the Santos Watch be creating the Cartier Santos 100. To cut short, it represents cool, wealth and status. Besides, lots of celebrities like it. For example, the passed away Leslie Cheung, Shu Qi, Xu Jinglei, Fan Bingbing, Hamasaki Ayumi, Paris Hilton, etc.

In 2014 there are more than 80 shops in China, and the best place to buy Cartier in Hong Kong is at Prince Building, Central.

To cut short, Cartier represents cool, wealth and status.

简单地说，卡地亚代表酷、财富和地位。

Shop in Hong Kong: 8A Chater Road, G/F&M/F Prince Building, Central, Hong Kong

香港地址： 香港中环遮打道8A号太子大厦G/F&M/F

Illustration/插图： Mario Ma