The Cartier legacy

Like his brothers, Jacques married well, socially speaking. His wife, Nelly Harjes, was the daughter of J.P. Morgan’s inordinately wealthy business partner in Europe. It was love though, rather than riches, that drove the union.

Growing up, Jacques had aspired to be a Catholic priest. But that changed when he met Nelly. The Cartiers were thrilled with the match, but Nelly’s family was underwhelmed, to say the least. They regarded the Cartiers “as shopkeepers, or ‘mere trade,’” Brickell writes. Nelly begged her father to sanction the marriage, but he remained doubtful of Jacques’ suitability.

Ultimately, John Harjes proposed a plan: If Nelly and Jacques could go a year without seeing each other, and still wanted to be together at the end, he would allow it. To distract himself during their prolonged separation, Jacques — who joined Cartier in 1906 — became utterly devoted to his work. His piece of the global puzzle was England and the colonies, and he travelled to India, making connections with gem-loving maharajas, and immersing himself in the jewellery there, which ultimately informed Cartier’s signature, Eastern-inflected aesthetic.

After Jacques and Nelly reunited, they were happily married, with her father’s blessing, and the pair made a substantial impact on the Cartier legacy in 1919.

Jacques took charge of the London branch of Cartier and started a workshop above the New Bond Street store to cater to the tiara-loving English aristocracy. He was jokingly known as ‘Vieux Jacques’ by his brothers, Louis and Pierre because of an astuteness beyond his years. He was the one they turned to for advice. He wrote some wonderful letters back to his brothers about how changing fashions after the war, when, heaven forbid, women cut their hair short was creating opportunities for longer earrings and a new style of bandeau headband worn on the forehead.

Even after Jacques passed away during World War II, Nelly was partly involved in the running of Cartier London alongside her son, Jean-Jacques, who was just taking over in his late twenties.