Cartier, From the Love Bracelet to the Tank: Where to Start

Cartier began in 1847, when Louis-François Cartier took over the Paris workshop of his master, Adolphe Picard. I like starting there because it reminds me that the house was a jeweller's bench long before it was a name on a red box, and most of the pieces in this edit still come back to that bench: a screw, a nail, three rings, a square watch case.

Each grid below is one Cartier collection, so you can go straight to the line you care about. Jewelry comes first, from Love to Clash, then the watches, then the sunglasses.

The Love bracelet was created by Aldo Cipullo in New York in 1969, and the screw motif is the whole idea, a bracelet you fasten on rather than slip on. I picked it in the small, medium and classic models in yellow gold, with the classic and small rings, the stud earrings and two pendants.

A practical tip: Love is flat and graphic and stacks easily with a watch, so choose the width by how much else you wear on that wrist. What I would skip is buying the bracelet and the ring of the same line at once. Live with one Cartier piece first, then decide whether you want the set.

Love Unlimited is the newest chapter of the Love story, and it takes the idea somewhere softer. The screws are still there on the plain versions, but the band is now ribbed and flexible, so it moves with the wrist instead of sitting like a rigid bangle. On the diamond versions, Cartier says diamonds take the place of the screw motif.

I picked the flexible bracelet in yellow, rose and white gold, the diamond bracelet, the six-diamond ring in yellow gold, the plain ring in rose and white gold, and the flexible necklace in yellow gold. If you already own a classic Love, the rings are the easy way to try the new texture, since they cost a fraction of the bracelets.

A practical tip: choose the gold you wear most, then add a second colour later. What I would skip is the diamond bracelet and the six-diamond ring together. Both are bright, and one is enough.

Juste un Clou came from Cipullo in New York too, in the 1970s, and Cartier says it turns an ordinary nail into a piece of jewellery. The shape stays the same and the proportions change: the classic model is a heavier band, the small model is a thin wire, and the diamond versions add stones along the nail.

I picked the small bracelet, ring and mini hoop in yellow gold, the classic bracelet and ring, the small bracelet in diamonds and in white gold, and the small ring in white gold. White gold makes the nail cooler and almost wire-like, which suits anyone who mostly wears silver.

A practical tip: the small bracelet is the one to wear every day, and the classic is the one that makes a statement. What I would skip is stacking it with a Love bracelet. The sharp outline of the nail likes to stand alone.

Trinity is the quiet one, and the oldest jewelry design in this edit. Cartier says the Trinity ring was imagined by Louis Cartier in 1924: three bands in three golds, rolling around each other. I think it is the easiest Cartier piece to wear every day, because the white, yellow and rose gold go with whatever else you have on.

Here it is as the classic ring, the small ring, the Trinity earrings and the Trinity bracelet on a black cord, which is the lightest way into the line. A pairing tip: Trinity works with anything, so start there if you are building a set. What I would skip is stacking more than two Trinity rings on one hand, since the bands start to blur together.

Panthère is the opposite of Trinity in temperament. The panther first appeared on a Cartier wristwatch in 1914, and in these pieces the cat is the whole design, in yellow gold with black lacquer spots and tsavorite garnet eyes.

I picked the small ring and the onyx and tsavorite pendant, the newer lacquer and onyx ring, the yellow gold ring with tsavorite garnets and the medium ring, then two small bracelets, one in yellow gold with onyx and one in rose gold, plus the white gold necklace, the stud earrings and the lacquer earrings. The studs are the smallest way in, two little cat faces, while the bracelets are the most sculptural.

A practical tip: if you want one Panthère piece to wear daily, take a small ring or the studs. What I would skip is a bracelet and a ring on the same hand, since the two cats will compete.

Clash de Cartier, launched in 2019, is the newest of the jewelry lines here, with studs and beads that look a little punk next to everything else. I chose the rose gold ring with onyx, then the mini hoops, the small bracelet and the multi-wear earrings in yellow gold.

A practical tip: the beads move, so Clash reads as texture rather than shine, and it sits well next to a smooth Love or Trinity piece. What I would skip is mixing Clash and Panthère on the same hand. Both are loud in their own way, and together they argue.

The Tank was created by Louis Cartier in 1917, and the shape is still the simplest thing in the shop: a rectangle with two bars down the sides, the case sitting flat on the wrist. I picked the Tank Must on a black leather strap, which is the easiest place to start, the Tank Must on a steel bracelet, the Tank Française in steel, the mini Tank Américaine, and two Tank Louis Cartier watches in yellow gold, the most classic version of the shape.

A practical test: try a watch with the sleeve you wear most. A slim Tank slides under a shirt cuff and looks as good on leather as on steel. What I would skip is choosing by photos alone. Watches change size on the wrist, so read the case measurements first.

The Santos de Cartier is older than the Tank. Cartier says Louis Cartier designed it in 1904 for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, who wanted to read the time without letting go of the controls, and its square case shows its screws on the bezel. I picked the medium model in steel, the small model in steel, the small model in yellow gold and steel, and a Santos-Dumont, the slimmer dress version on a leather strap.

A practical tip: several of the Santos models come with interchangeable metal and leather straps, so one watch can dress up or down. What I would skip is a large case on a small wrist. A Santos sits better on a bare wrist or a rolled sleeve, so try the medium first.

The Panthère watch, first made in the 1980s, is small and supple, almost a bracelet. I picked the mini and the small model in steel, the small model in yellow gold and steel, and the small model with a diamond bezel.

A practical tip: steel is the day watch, and the two-tone version is the one to wear when you want a little more shine. What I would skip is the mini if you like to read the time at a glance, since its dial is the smallest of the group.

The Ballon Bleu has a round case with a blue cabochon on the crown, and it is the detail you notice first. I picked the 28 mm quartz, the 33 mm and the 36 mm in steel, and the 33 mm in yellow gold and steel.

A practical tip: a round case looks bigger than a square one of the same size, so try the 33 mm before the 36 mm. What I would skip is the 28 mm quartz if you want an automatic movement. The 33 mm and 36 mm are the ones to look at for that.

The Baignoire is an oval case, and the most dressy of all the Cartier watches here. I picked the mini on leather and the mini on a gold cuff, then the small and the medium models in yellow gold.

A practical test: a slim Baignoire slides under a shirt cuff and looks best with a thin gold bracelet beside it rather than a second watch. What I would skip is the mini cuff if you need to read the time quickly, since the dial is tiny.

The panther is the house animal, and on these frames it shows up as a small detail at the temple. I picked four that cover the range: a golden pair with brown gradient lenses, a black acetate pair with gray gradient lenses, a tortoiseshell acetate pair and a golden pair with green gradient lenses.

A practical tip: the acetate frames feel more like everyday sunglasses, while the all metal ones are lighter and a little more dressy. What I would skip is the lightest lens tint if you want them for driving, since the darker gradients cut more glare.

These borrow from the Santos watch, with the same squared lines and exposed screw detail. I picked four: platinum finish titanium with blue lenses, black PVD titanium with black lenses, platinum and black PVD with gray lenses, and golden titanium with green polarized lenses.

A practical tip: the black PVD pair is the easiest to wear with everything, and the green polarized pair is the one I would grab for water or the road. What I would skip is the platinum pair if most of your jewellery is gold, since the cool metal will fight it.

The Classic C motif puts a small C at the hinge, and the shapes are rimless and light. I picked four: platinum finish with blue lenses, rose golden finish with red gradient lenses, and two golden pairs, one with brown lenses and one with blue.

A practical tip: match the frame metal to the jewellery you wear most, and let the lens do the talking. What I would skip is a rimless frame if you are hard on sunglasses, because the lenses sit exposed and scratch more easily than a full frame, so keep them in their case.

If I could only choose one piece of Cartier, it would be a Trinity ring. It is the oldest jewellery design in this edit, it sits happily next to gold and silver alike, and it does not ask you to change how you dress. After that, a Tank Must on leather, and only then a Love or Juste un Clou bracelet once I know how I like to stack. If you are buying a gift, I would lean toward earrings or a pendant from the jewelry grids, since they do not depend on knowing a ring or wrist size.

Care is mostly common sense. Take rings off before hand cream, store each piece separately so gold does not scratch gold, check the screws on a Love bracelet now and then, and send watches for a regular service.

What I love about this house is how each design is one clear idea: a screw, a nail, three bands, a rectangle, a square with its screws on show. Louis-François Cartier took over a workshop in 1847, and nearly two centuries later the best of the work still feels like something a craftsman could sketch in a single line. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Cartier Tank Solo and Cartier Tank Watch Dupe.