When it comes to timepieces, fine or otherwise, style is often not part of the package…at least not style as defined here by the Oxford dictionary, which goes something like this: a distinctive appearance, typically determined by the principles according to which something is designed. Mirriam Webster has a definition that is more helpful to watchmakers and style: a distinct quality, form or type. That one is succinct and perhaps best suited when it comes to introducing a man for whom style is his entire job…well, a part of it at least.
Pierre Rainero, Cartier’s Director of Image, Style and Heritage, has published an excellent definition of style, to which I’ve referred on numerous occasions. The time has come for it to be realized, and I am most pleased. “Style is the incarnation of a philosophy that conveys complex things in a simple way. It has its own sensibility, and thus becomes a way of anticipating, experiencing, and communicating feelings and emotions – style, perhaps, is simply the expression of a vision.” Rainero wrote that in his chapter in the Flamarion hardcover Cartier: The Power of Style (2010).
Rainero’s role at Cartier is not that of a creative or artistic director. Cartier doesn’t have a position like this, despite his initial title as Communication and Artistic director in 1999. Rainero is a Cartier veteran who has worked in a number roles since joining the company in 1984. It was a time of change at the storied jewellery and watch firm, and Rainero has had a front seat alongside the great names of that time…Perrin, Cologni, Fornas… We sat down with Rainero to hear his story at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2023.
You hold a very impressive title that you have held for over ten years. Tell us more about it.
Well, every day is different of course, because in fact I have many different things I’m involved in… The central responsibility, of course, and that explains all the other ones (as you will see), is my involvement in the creative process. So that’s effectively the style part of my title.
In 1998, Alain Dominique Perrin was President of Cartier and he had that role (as artistic director) without having the title – he was president, so he could do everything. In 1999, when he was leaving to become president of Richemont, he told me ‘you will be the artistic director.’
For a time, I held the title of Communication and Artistic director, but I quickly realized that this was not what I was actually doing. I did this for two reasons. First, I recognized immediately that there were many people involved in the creation process. It is a combination of talent. Maybe I already knew this (before assuming the role).
Each of these artists has a strong influence on the artistic side; it’s even more evident in jewellery than in watches.
Did you know that there is no one person to do the job?
(Left), the hands are attached to the dial on the Tank Americaine
This isn’t true. It was also to create and share an idea of what Cartier objects should be in the present and future.
I’m not the creative because the creative part is on the side of the designers as it has always been since the time of Louis Cartier himself, and Jeanne Toussaint [the legendary fashion and jewellery designer]. Louis Cartier called them (the designers), “inventors”.
What is your current portfolio and how would you describe a typical workday?
I have a role to play (today), which is to talk with the creatives, (the inventors), about where Cartier should be going. We (together) try to identify what makes Cartier unique, using a historical perspective (for instance), and try explaining why the objects at that time were as they were. What was behind the objects? How can we apply this philosophy today? I interact with creatives at every stage, including before the design brief.
Every day I receive a number of questions. Perhaps I’m contacted by a designer or studio head who wants to know what you think. Maybe they can show me a prototype. There are many scheduled meetings as well.
The style part of my job title also includes my involvement with everything created by Cartier. For example, the architecture of stores. I’m also involved the same way with the architects and interior designers…I am the link between image and style because effectively the style of the store is a part of image-building, for example. As a result, I am responsible for all the artistic and cultural aspects at Cartier. This means all Cartier’s links with external institutions or schools all over the world. You know, so I travel a lot [before Watches and Wonders Geneva 2023, Rainero was in Mexico City for a Cartier exhibition and he went to Hong Kong the week after the fair for another exhibition scheduled to open there]. Not only do I work with the curators but also with the backroom, which includes contract negotiations. This also has a permanent element, as we are in constant contact with institutions such as the Louvre, British Museum, and Metropolitan Museum in New York because they all have Cartier pieces (or may in the future acquire historical pieces) in their respective collections.
Why is Cartier’s history so powerful?
Cartier’s history and production are rich, in part because we were the first (watch and jewelry Maison) to be established in the world. In terms of innovation, yes. But also in terms just of production. The world became curious about us. A century ago, Cartier was so big that all the other jewellers were looking at it and calling it the ‘Firm’ because it was already something incredible. Cartier had production in London, New York and Paris, so it was possible, as I said, for a young person to have a successful international career with Cartier at the beginning of the 20th century. The company was not that far removed from the international companies of today. We were sending people to Hong Kong, to Tehran, to South America…we have all the reports of those people (the commercial reports).
It is incredible when you think of it, so that’s why there’s a richness in terms of production, and also different categories of products because Carter is so unique in this way…and also of having that watchmaking part as equal to the jewellery part. Cartier has become one of the most important players in the decorative arts of applied arts. There is also a human dimension to this story, and I’m not referring only to the Cartier family (in those early days) because very, very quickly the family needed a lot of people to manage the company.
What kind of people are you talking about, and were you surprised to learn what you learned yourself?
They are not well known outside of Cartier, but we know them. I’m talking about the directors for London and for New York, you know the succession of them (and the significant things they did for Cartier)… For instance, the help we gave to Charles de Gaulle during World War II was decided by the director, not by the Cartier family. Jeanne Toussaint is just one example. [who was not a member of the Cartier family, but was appointed Director of Fine Jewellery by Louis Cartier in 1933; she remained with the firm until 1970, after the Cartier family had sold the business].
So you realise the power of those people…the artisans; it is an incredible number of people over the years. The story of Cartier is an adventure that involves people, which makes it rich. This also makes it difficult to apprehend everything about Cartier because as a commercial entity, what we keep in our archives is mainly linked to how the company works and the production; that’s already very important because it is the link with the clients. We only keep the information that we are legally required to keep. We have very little information about the personal interactions of Cartier employees, and the stories they lived. So that’s why I see there are many, many things still to discover…including the reason why the name Ronde was given to this Santos model [a vintage watch worn by a Cartier employee who sat in on the interview], which is actually not round at all…I never received an answer to my question when I first joined in 1984, and I still don’t know!
How important is it to feel the piece compared to how it looks?
The ergonomics of jewellery are key. Our vision for watchmaking and jewellery (is linked by this). It is a specific skill in jewellery (or to jewellery) in considering how the object will wear… it is not like making little sculptures, which is something that might come to mind (as being analogous). Jewellery is worn and mostly by women. It’s also in constant motion. This has a huge impact on the way jewellers think about objects. This (culture of creativity) is very important in watchmaking as well (because watches can also be worn). If we are able to express ourselves through our watchmaking creations, this is because we used to be jewellers before becoming watchmakers.
It was also logical to focus on shapes when we were first jewellers. We became designers of shapes for watchmaking. But there’s a logic to it, because originally we weren’t a supplier of movements or on the technical side. Instead, we were creators of beautiful objects. Our vision was that a timepiece had to be beautiful.
What was the design of a Cartier timepiece that you found challenging?
The Ballon Bleu, for me, was one of the most challenging exercises in creativity I’ve ever had to do. We wanted a Cartier round watch that is also Cartier. So it’s a contradiction. We were known for our wide range of shapes (and we are well-known for this). Thus for Ballon Bleu, we said let’s think of this design as if nothing is impossible; impossible is not French!
We went on to design something that looks like a pebble. The brilliant idea was for the crown to be incorporated into the circular shape, instead of sticking out as usual. The crown is absent, so it’s obvious this isn’t a normal round watch. The design logic and ergonomics of the watch are there. The design of the wristband is something I remember very clearly about this model. I thought it was elegant and functional, without adding anything else to the watch in terms of creativity or interest.
How much of Cartier’s design philosophy, as far as watches go, can be tied back to 1904?
I think when you analyze the creations, the different creations in terms of watchmaking from 1904, the original design of the Santos (from the first piece designed in 1904, for aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont and then the production models in 1911) until (the designs of) 1917, and the 1920s…it is very, very interesting because you have that idea to design for the first time an object that contains a watch designed specifically to be worn on the wrist (as a tool).
This was brilliant as before, a man would only be able to wear a wristwatch linked with a pocketwatch. Santos Dumont’s watch design was based on a square with rounded edges because pocket watches were made in this way. The Santos-Dumont from 1904 was a valid object but it did not correspond to the most pure shape to achieve their objective (to be a great wristwatch). We then created the Tonneau, a larger watch two years later (1906). It was curvy because it needed to follow the contour of a wrist. It could have been flat if it were smaller. In 1912 we created the Tortue which is the flat variant.
In 1917, two parallel lines were (now famous) the characteristic of the Tank. Two parallel lines linking up is the simplest thing. (The Tank Normale of this year is a throwback to this original Tank). Louis Cartier requested in 1922 that the metal between lugs be removed and only the two parallel line (or the least amount of metal possible) remain. This Tank has been renamed Tank Louis Cartier in our archive. Louis Cartier himself asked that they do this and produce that model. This was a rare instance where he interjected in the design. It is therefore no surprise that the watch was given that name because of his strong desire to alter it. This sense of purity was very important not just for Louis Cartier, it was also important for other people in this era. The two first decades of the 20th century, that’s where many revolutions happened in terms of design, art in general and many other areas, and Louis Cartier is part of this new era.
This article appeared first in WOW Autumn Issue 70
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