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The Cartier Mansion.
- Francesca Cartier Brickell is a graduate in English literature from Oxford University, and a direct descendant of the Cartier family. She is a sought-after international lecturer on Cartier's illustrious history, and has given talks for major auction houses, museums, and societies.
- The following is an excerpt from her book, "THE CARTIERS: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire."
- In it, she describes how Cartier's iconic townhouse was exchanged in a barter for Cartier pearls - and rigorously redesigned.
- When they went to move in to the new store, the Cartier staff found themselves locked out - and out on the sidewalk with boxes of precious jewels.
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In the early twentieth century, a perfect pearl was considered the most valuable object in the world. The discovery of one in the Persian Gulf was a major event. It would even throw the global financial market into a state of high alert by depressing the value of everything else. It didn't take long for Alfred and his sons to become wise to the power of the small iridescent gemstones. The wealthiest women in the world bought Cartier's pearls, but of all the well-known pearl transactions, one stood out as being particularly significant for the firm. It involved a spoiled young bride, Maisie Plant, and her doting elderly husband, Morton Plant, a railroad and steamship magnate who was also the commodore of the very prestigious New York Yacht Club.
Sam Irons
Francesca Cartier Brickell.
In 1916, Pierre Cartier put what he believed to be the most expensive necklace in the world in his New York showroom. With two strings of 55 and 73 perfect pearls, it was worth more than a million dollars (around $24 million in today's money) and became an overnight sensation. Many admirers traveled to see it in the flesh, but the 31-year-old Maisie Plant was more captivated than most.