Inside the newly renovated Cartier in New York, designed by Laura Gonzalez.
Photo: SCOTT FRANCES; COURTESY OF CARTIER
Explore Cartier’s Newly Redesigned Maisons in New York and Paris
The storied brand debuts renovated flagships filled with light, luminosity, and a nod to history
Both the New York and Paris flagships of Cartier possess a special kind of nostalgia. Rich with history, each location represents key facets of the storied brand. So when it came time for top-to-bottom renovations, matters were not taken lightly, yet the approach was far from rigid, as the jewelry house recognizes the critical importance of reinvention. “Part of our heritage is that people evolve and that the very notion of beauty evolves,” says Pierre Rainero, Cartier’s image, style, and heritage director. “That’s the logic behind the Cartier spirit.”
In New York, the second-floor lounge is home to a portrait of Maisie Plant wearing the double strand of pearls for which her husband traded the mansion. Photo: SCOTT FRANCES; COURTESY OF CARTIER
For the renovation of the Cartier mansion on New York’s Fifth Avenue, designer Laura Gonzalez used mirrors, mosaics, and crystal to bring light into the first-floor landing. Photo: SCOTT FRANCES; COURTESY OF CARTIER
At the Fifth Avenue mansion, which was acquired by Pierre Cartier in 1917 in exchange for a double strand of pearls, Laura Gonzalez has cast a shimmering glow on its decor, infusing the once-Victorian-feeling interior with a New York energy. Dark, masculine wood panels have been covered in plaster with “a dirty fresco patina that brings a lot of texture,” she explains. One-of-a-kind installations, such as a Béatrice Serre wall of travertine and quartz, a towering sculpture by the ceramic artist Peter Lane, and a mosaic fresco by Mathilde Jonquière, further Gonzalez’s vision. “A big idea was to work with the heritage and to bring the right new things,” says the designer, who achieved a level of ethereal warmth and elegance using fabrics, patterns, and furnishings befitting the legacy of the former private Gilded Age mansion.
The atrium of the Cartier boutique at 13 rue de la Paix in Paris as conceived by Moinard Bétaille. Photo: FABRICE FOUILLET; COURTESY OF CARTIER
In Paris, at 13 rue de la Paix, the renovation was far more intensive, with three design teams—Moinard Bétaille, Studioparisien, and Gonzalez—contributing to the comprehensive 16-month transformation of the space, which has been Cartier’s main home in the city since 1899. Aside from the distinctive black marble façade and a handful of historical elements, everything has been reimagined. Moinard Bétaille, which has worked with Cartier for over 20 years, designing 180 boutiques, took the leading role and cut open the core of the building to create a magnificent atrium anchored by a monumental carved plaster wall of vines that gesture to the brand’s Tutti Frutti motif. “There are some elements that you see during the first visit that are obvious, and there are some others that are more subtle that you will notice only when you come back,” the firm’s founder and president, Bruno Moinard, observes.
A seating area overlooking the atrium in Paris. Photo: FABRICE FOUILLET; COURTESY OF CARTIER
A Tank Asymétrique, exclusive to the address. Photo: COURTESY OF CARTIER
One of those understated details, presented on a lacquered wood panel, is a quote by poet, filmmaker, and client Jean Cocteau reading, “Cartier, the subtle magician, who dangles slivers of the moon on a thread of the sun.” And with these redesigns, that same sorcery and luminosity permeate Cartier’s flagship homes in both New York and Paris.
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2023 Spring Issue under the headline “Sparkling New.” Subscribe to the magazine.
Cover: Inside the newly renovated Cartier in New York, designed by Laura Gonzalez.
Photo: SCOTT FRANCES; COURTESY OF CARTIER
