Motoring jewels

Place: DELHI

Cartier reaffirms its affinity with India with an ambitious vintage car show as it looks to grow its Indian market

Classic cars came up one by one to claim
their prizes at the Cartier Concours d'Elegance 

India’s elite have long enjoyed their favourite equine speedsters win races at Delhi’s Jaipur Polo Grounds. On a recent pleasantly sunny Saturday afternoon however, the horses were replaced beauties from another era, and species, as 56 vintage cars competed for honours in the second Cartier Concours d'Elegance in India. On hand were not just vintage car enthusiasts but some leading car collectors and experts from across the world.

Cartier and India have had a long, though interrupted, love story, dating back to the days of the erstwhile maharajas. It is no surprise therefore that despite India’s current negligible share in global sales that the world’s top jewellery brand, or maison as it prefers to be known as, sees India as an important potential market that needs to be nurtured so that it can deliver up to a tenth of global sales in future.

A winning beauty roll up 

“India is in love with jewellery and its aesthetics have influenced Cartier over time,” says Bernard Fornas, President and CEO of Cartier, who was in Delhi for the Cartier Concours d’Elegance, one of the four big concours globally. The Cartier Concours d'Elegance is globally positioned as the ultimate show of motoring grandeur. The first in India was held in Mumbai in 2008, and contributed considerably in introducing new local clients to Cartier, whose largest sales in the country come in watches and jewellery.

The maharajas had wanted not just the best, but also often wanted their pieces to be unique, and that was reflected in the number of unique customized cars on show among the cars selected by Manavendra Singh, curator of the Cartier Concours. And that reflects still in the jewellery that Cartier, now part of the global luxury conglomerate, Richemont, is selling in India.

This one belongs to the erstwhile royals of Mayurbhanj

“There is great potential in India, but the taxes are an impediment,” says Fornas. Cartier opened its first 300 square metre boutique at Delhi’s Emporio two years ago, and has since been looking for other locations to open in.

India’s share in global sales are still a very small percentage, though Fornas declines to disclose figures. While jewellery is a great love for Indian women, watches also contribute an equal share for India in revenue, he says.

Various challenges remain. “A boutique in Mumbai would be good,” says he, pointing out that while there were no set rules for a store location, the overall environment and central location were crucial for any potential store site. A high street works as well as a mall, Fornas points out, pointing to the success Cartier has had in China, where weather can be a challenge too. Cartier today has 37 boutiques in China, which range from 400 to 900 square meters in size. And China could be Cartier’s largest market, a growth story Fornas would like to see replicated in India.

Louis Ferla, Cartier MD for Middle East and South Asia, says the Indian market for Cartier has grown by 30 to 40 per cent in the last three years. “The boutique is doing well, but high import duties and lack of a high street are impediments to the growth story in India,” he says.

He also admits that Indian customers have traditionally gone for local jewelers, though he is encouraged by the response international jewellery houses are getting of late.

In India, even as Cartier waits to open more stories, Cartier is investing in communication and staff besides of course events and car restoration. Even ‘The Best Car of the Show Award’ went to a historic 1911 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Dome Roof Limousine, a throne car that belongs to former princess Ezra of Hyderabad, which Cartier helped restore to its original form. Whether the cars spur more Indians to try out Cartier timepieces or jewellery remains to be seen.

A lot like love

Place: DELHI

It’s been an interrupted love story. The spark had been immediate, more than a century ago. The India story in biz may be a future tale, still in its nascent stages, the cultural efflorescence started long ago. And among earliest responsible for taking the Indian motif global was the Cartier. Decades later, it’s now a period of reunion, one that comes after long years of separation.

Cartier's Inde Mysterieuse necklace

Jeweller to Kings, King of Jewellers. Cartier can perhaps justifiably preen itself for being the top name in the watch and jewellery brand section. Globally, the 160-year old brand has become the byword for jewelled excellence. It made the world’s first men’s wristwatch. It was only after Albert Cartier set up shop there in 1899 that Rue de la Paix became the global hub of premium jewellery. Today, Cartier’s jewellery is only sold through its boutique, a reason why Indians had to shop for Cartier necklaces and tiaras in London or Paris.

Old connections
The establishment of the first boutique in India means the famed collections are now available much closer home for its clientele. Partnering with Navratna Bharat Retail Pvt Ltd, Cartier came back to India this month after exiting in the tumultuous years of the Second World War. Richemont SA-owned Cartier, recently opened its first boutique, after the 1940s in India earlier this year Delhi’s plush Emporio. The brand owns 51% stake in the joint venture.

As the preferred brand of most of India’s erstwhile maharajas, the old connection now reaches another level. The company, part of the world’s second largest luxury group, Richemont, whose global presence includes some of the most prestigious names in the luxury industry including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Panerai and Montblanc. Cartier alone has 260 boutiques across the world.

“Location is crucial for us, and we needed a location like this,” Patrick Normand, Managing Director, Cartier, said at the launch of the 300m2 store. The store has been designed by the Bruno Moinard, who has also designed the legendary Cartier stores around the world. Normand is scouting for sites in Mumbai, which will have the next company store, though the date is still not decided. “We want to understand our customer’s requirements. We will only expand when we feel the time is right.”

Cartier will retail its watch and accessory ranges from the store too, though Normand stops short of calling it a flagship store for the brand. Iconic ranges of the like Panther, Caresse d’Orchidees, Delices de Cartier and others will be available at the store. India has been a frequent inspiration for designs, and its 2008 collection, Inde Mysterieuse, brings out the way Cartier’s Paris-based design team has brought out the brand. “We are different from other luxury brands in the sense that India is part of our creative process,” he says.

Normand also discounts fears about a sales dip due to the prevailing downturn in the market. “We are in India for the long run,” he said, pointing the long history of the brand had seen many an economic up and down. He is quick to point out that unlike a fashion purchase, a Cartier piece is seen as an heirloom and in a society like India’s should find especial value.

A store official says many who have been frequenting the store since its soft launch in October have been surprised by the concept of the store, the way they are taken care of, the reading area and have ended up enjoying the experience. Normand admits that while the store is not as big as the in Dubai, — that’s about 700m2 — the Delhi store is one of the largest and will provide the entire Cartier experience.

For the long haul
And unlike a lot of global luxury brands entering the Indian market now, Cartier had a close association with India over the years. Louis Cartier first made the long journey to India in 1911 — and it was a good business decision as the top line maharajas and their retinue — in Hyderabad, Baroda, Rampur, Kapurthala, Patiala — could not resist working on the charm and sophistication. And the journey did not remain one way as Cartier’s opulent Indian designs soon began finding a market in the West as well. Cartier organised a special exhibition in New York’s Fifth Avenue in 1913. 20 pieces, drawn loosely on Islamic and Indian art were presented.

Indeed, besides Paris, New York and London have grown to become second homes for the brand. About 95% of the manufacturing for the brand happens in France and Switzerland. “Yes, we have an Indian in our creative team in Paris,” Normand says in response to a query on design influences from around the world. “We do not design for specific countries.”

Cartier, to promote the brand, will also host events. The ‘Travel with Style’ Concours d’Élégance, held at Mumbai’s Royal Western India Turf Club, was a case in point. “We aim to be a daily luxury store,” says Normand. Time will tell, and perhaps none better than a Cartier watch to tell it!

Visions of splendour: Views of the Cartier store in Delhi, top left, as it looked in its earlier version before the Second World War and top right, the swanky version now; below, the cover of the Cartier exhibition held in New York in 1913; left, Patrick Normand; far left above, the then maharajah of Indore, Yashwant Rao Holkar and three of his sons

Taj from the West
To mark its official entry into India, Cartier announced the launch of a limited edition watch as it finally opened its first boutique in India, marking its entry into a market that is still at the nascent stages of luxury retail but shows potential. Just 15 of the Santos Taj Mahal, a limited edition watch have been manufactured. A handcrafted watch, this gold and diamond Swiss watch also uses onyx, quartz and mother of pearl. The 18 carat watch has about a carat of diamond as well, including round ones on bezel.

The collector’s edition watch is priced at Rs 40 lakh.