Initially, Cartier was still a family owned enterprise.
In the 19th century, there was a craftsman named Louis Francois Cartier in Paris, France, who apprenticed under a master watchmaker named Adolphe Picard. In 1847, he took over the master's studio and founded the "Cartier" brand.

Louis is very good at grasping the market and consumer demand, and quickly established a certain reputation for the brand, and the store also moved to a more prosperous area. Moreover, Cartier also began to attract the attention of some royal nobles and upper class individuals, such as Princess Matilda, a cousin of Napoleon III, which opened the door for Cartier to enter the Parisian aristocratic circle.
Cartier has been passed down in the family of Louis Cartier. In the 1990s, his grandchildren - Louis, Pierre, and Jacques - took over and moved the company to the most elegant and luxurious center of Paris, providing luxury watches, as well as Orientalist and art deco style art and design for various upper class people.

At the same time, the company is also developing in multiple directions. On the one hand, Louis designed a unique wristwatch based on the inconvenience of using a pocket watch during flight, which was not only loved by his pilot friend but also attracted many other customers; On the other hand, the company also began to establish branches abroad. Starting from 1902, Cartier opened stores in London and New York, while its headquarters remained in Paris. Both the jewelry and watch industries are continuously developing.

Under the collaboration of three managers in the third generation, Cartier's reputation continued to flourish, and it was highly favored by aristocrats in Paris and London, including Edward VII, who later became the King of England.
In 1964, the fourth generation of Cartier family managers, who were responsible for several branches, sold Cartier's business. In 1972, Robert Hocq, along with several other investors, acquired Cartier's Paris store, followed by the acquisition of its New York and London stores, once again reorganizing them into the Cartier Group. Moreover, the newly appointed person in charge has also developed a new low-end product line called 'Les Must de Cartier', providing cost-effective by-products.