House of the Panther

Cartier's newly refurbished Parisian boutique might be the most comprehensive museum of the maison's history, style and savoir faire the world has ever seen.

- SHAN LEE

At first, there were three. Three Cartier brothers, three iconic cities, three historical addresses, like an almost-sacred trinity. But within this venerated network, Cartier Paris, now known as 13 Paix, reigns as the first among equals, as the birthplace and matrix of all for which the maison stands.

Influencing the Parisian luxury and society scene just as much as it has been influenced by the City of Light, Cartier's era-defying flagship serves as an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the treasures of its past and future. As it adjoins the magnificent Place Vendôme, Rue de la Paix was the place to be in Paris for luxury shopping - then as much as now.

Back in the day, Cartier had been one of the first firms in Paris to offer electricity and a telephone. So entrepreneurial were the Cartier brothers that they even had their own company automobile designated for deliveries. This service offered added privacy to clients, while simultaneously promoting the family name. More significantly, the boutique has also been a treasured sanctuary for the maison's most eminent creative visionaries, such as Louis Cartier, Jeanne Toussaint, Charles Jacqueau and many more.

Today, it raises the curtains to a bold rejuvenation of its storied interiors that seeks to change the face of luxury watch and jewellery retail as you've never before imagined. This complete overhaul rivals the boutique's landmark expansion between 1910 and 1913, where Cartier took up the entire stretch from 11 to 13 Rue de la Paix, which formerly belonged to the Hôtel Westminster. Entirely rethought, redesigned and refurbished, suffice it to say that all 3,000sqm of the house's Parisian store has been totally reinvented, where nothing of its previous interior has been preserved.