Chapter 12 Chapter 11 The Ultimate Luxury: Memories Engraved in History
Highlights of this chapter: Luxury brands such as Prada and Anna Sui convey the spirit of the essence of the consumer goods industry to consumers through advertisements.However, luxury goods in the true sense, such as the world's top jewelry, are not as simple as relying on advertisements to display the essence of the industry, but relying on the memory accumulated in history to allow the essence of the industry to settle in the hearts of consumers.They cannot be produced as OEMs in China like some Italian clothing brands, because even the craftsmanship of the production is the memory of historical accumulation.I have to remind readers again that because it is a luxury product, it will still be hit hard during the economic downturn, but the nature of the industry of Ultimate Jewelry will definitely attract Chinese manufacturing funds.
Cartier has grasped the pulse of the times from the very beginning. Because times have changed, and at the end of the 19th century, a new wealthy class began to show strength in society. Please think about it, what kind of watches are expensive watches? Ladies don't wear watches, but jewelry; men don't wear watches, but reflect their own taste for power and beauty. Simply put, the essence of the jewelry industry is memory, that is to say, whether a piece of jewelry can carry the memories and stories that buyers want to engrave.A distinctive feature of jewelry consumer behavior is that the buyer is very aware of why the gift recipient needs the piece of jewelry.It can be said that there must be an unforgettable story hidden behind every piece of jewelry.Therefore, when buyers decide to buy a piece of jewelry, they must think that this specific style or material can entrust this story or convey this special feeling. The consumption purposes of jewelry include wedding celebrations, collections and status symbols, and the moment of consumption is to engrave a memory.For example, Daimond is a leading company in China's jewelry industry, and this essence can be seen from its product segmentation.Dai Mengde divides the products into several series: Swofia Collection, Love at First Sight, Two Hearts, Forever, Platinum Special Zone and Eternal Mark.In fact, this is to allow jewelry with similar designs to carry this memory according to the different demands of consumers at different stages of life.Chow Tai Fook’s web design is not as careful as that of Dai Mengde, but if we observe carefully, we will find that the main difference between different products is the special memory of different stages of life. Of course, both Diamonde and Chow Tai Fook are mid-end brands and cannot be compared with the world's top ten top jewelry brands. Therefore, we need to verify whether the essence of this industry is correct from two aspects.Table 11-1 lists the world's top ten top jewelry brands. Let's talk about the commonality of these top brands first.Without exception, these top ten brands have a very long history.The oldest brands are Tiffany, which was founded in New York, USA in 1837, Tijue, which was founded in Paris, France, and Cartier, which was founded in Paris, France in 1874.Even the youngest Italian brand Damiani was founded 85 years ago in 1924.The centuries-old history of these brands is the best proof that memory is the essence of this industry. Famous far and wide Let's take a look at the legendary story of Cartier's establishment. In 1847, Louis-Francois Cartier took over the jewelry workshop of his teacher Adolphe Picard located at 29 Montorgueil Street in Paris, and the Cartier brand was born.If you were to open a jewelry store, how would you do business?Maybe you will set some diamonds indiscriminately and start asking for sky-high prices, fooling one after another, and earning some quick money, just like the status quo of our Chinese jewelry industry.Maybe you could just make traditional gold rings, not too far off from a sewing thimble. However, Cartier has grasped the pulse of the times from the very beginning. France in the 19th century was in constant regime change. In the 1850s, after Napoleon III ruled France, society returned to its former glitz.Social activities such as celebrations and balls were frequently held in the upper class of Paris and the nobles of the palace, and there was a scene of singing and dancing everywhere.The jewelry designed by Cartier has mastered the atmosphere of this era, which is a kind of color, bright and dazzling, and has a strong Renaissance style. In 1852, Cartier moved its jewelry store to 5 Rue Neuve-des-Petits-Champs, which is located near the fashionable back street of the Royal Palace District and the magnificent Orleans Palace.This important relocation has opened up a new situation for the positive interaction between Cartier and the royal family.For example, Cartier's first guest of honor was the Countess of Uwekerke (Comtesse de Nieuwerkerke), an important artistic figure during the Napoleon III period.The Countess's first order at Cartier was a cameo necklace with vintage gemstones in classic taste.Under the strong recommendation of the Countess, Princess Mathilde and Empress Eugenie became Cartier's customers. But until this time, Cartier's main customers were only a few royal nobles.Cartier did not become famous until 1904, why did it take 50 years to become famous?Accumulate craftsmanship?Wrong, the famous work 50 years later was produced by this founder.Do you accumulate designs?Wrong, the famous work 50 years later was still designed by this person.As for the purpose, you must know that people usually have extraordinary ideas and epoch-making design talents when they are young. So what has Cartier been doing in the past 50 years?Cartier is condensing memory!For more than fifty years, Cartier has been accumulating aristocratic contacts and memories, so when he made gold watches for his old friend Santos in 1904, he did not engage in luxury or design breakthroughs. , but to grasp the essence of the industry, that is, relying on years, memory and experience to condense into a great and extraordinary design.Therefore, Santos was greatly appreciated.In this year, Cartier became the royal jewelry supplier of the British royal family, and was hailed as "the emperor's jeweler, the jeweler's emperor" by King Edward VII of England.This honor made Cartier immediately surpass other jewelry brands and become the king of the jewelry industry.Cartier kept improving. In 1938, Queen Elizabeth appeared in front of the world wearing a bracelet watch specially designed by Cartier, which once again made Cartier the darling of international attention. At this stage, it is already a very stable and glorious business for Cartier to provide high-quality small batch orders for the royal family members.But times had changed, and at the end of the 19th century, a new wealthy class began to show strength in society.Although these capitalists lacked noble blood, their wealth was enough to sublimate them into the top social circle.They modeled themselves on the royal and aristocratic lifestyle, and even began to order more dazzling jewelry than royal jewelry.In order to grasp the pulse of the new era, in 1899, Cartier once again moved its store to No. 13 Rue de la Paix, a high-end commodity center in Paris, opening a new era for Cartier. In 1902 and 1909, Cartier established branches in London and New York respectively, becoming an international jewelry brand. I want to tell readers, what is great culture and art?That must be able to call out the collective personality of this era.For example, the greatness of Lu Xun's articles does not lie in technical details such as writing style or logic, but in the fact that the spirit of Ah Q in his writing calls out to our collective personality.In the same way, first-class jewelry must be a great work that calls out the collective personality of this era and leads the memory of the era. The first industrial revolution from the late 18th century to the mid-19th century had an unprecedented impact on all fields of the world.In the art world, influenced by the mechanical aesthetics of industrial culture, Art Deco style began to prevail in various fields such as architecture, fine arts, and applied arts.The decorative art of this period completely broke the red tape style of the past, and changed to a symmetrical geometric composition, depicted in contrasting colors, clearly showing a rigorous and modern style.Since then, the Cartier studio has also complied with the call of the times, and began to create brooches with geometric lines including square, round, and diamond shapes, and introduced colorful rubies and sapphires as decorations in the monotonous world of platinum and diamonds in the past. This was unimaginable before. The following excerpts are a few paragraphs describing the history of Cartier, which will help readers understand how Cartier grasps the essence of the industry. In 1909, the art world underwent a disruptive change: Ballets Russes starring dance stars Vaslav Nijinsky and Tarnara Karsavina ) was a huge success at the Theater Duchatelet.Louis Cartier and his designer Charles Jacqueau were deeply moved by the brilliant colors used in the stage scenery.Orange and yellow, green and blue, blue and sky blue, red, pink and purple - such a bright color combination, confirmed that Cartier combined emerald and sapphire, amethyst and ruby, and even tried other more Possibility of bold color combinations.Therefore, while creating the decorative art style of jewelry, Cartier boldly broke the ideological confinement of traditional color matching.Black agate, coral, and colored gemstones have become Cartier's most favored materials, and the fresh breath of modernism is everywhere.In a crown created in 1914, Cartier even used black steel, which was matched with platinum, rubies and diamonds, giving the jewelry an unprecedented modern texture. However, the most favored color combination at the time was undoubtedly blue and green. In 1923, Cartier created a precious and gorgeous pendant with a cabochon sapphire weighing 121 carats and carved emeralds.This combination of blue and green is brisk and harmonious in color, showing subtle texture changes on polished and carved surfaces. During this period, Cartier also extensively absorbed the essence of multiculturalism in the world, and used innovative designs to bring eternal new life to the cultural imprints of exotic places.The gods and plant patterns of ancient Egypt, the miniature paintings of the Persian Middle Ages, and the traditional gemstone carving techniques of India have all given Cartier an endless source of inspiration.Each piece of exotic treasures expresses Cartier's unique interpretation of world culture. In the late 1930s, World War II broke out.Intense and brutal wars have shaken entire societies, bringing displacement and grief to people who have lost loved ones.People are powerless to change the reality of suffering, and can only seek solace in the spiritual world.A wave of naturalism emerged: seeing nature as the ultimate refuge from human cannibalism, the transcendent world of animals and plants, reflected in every aspect of art.The legendary Ms. Jeanne Toussaint (Jeanne Toussaint) served as the director of Cartier's high-end jewelry department. She has extraordinary taste, rich imagination and wisdom, and has a keen sense of social trends.Under her careful attention, all of Cartier's designs present a new feeling of being close to nature.Animals and plants have become an important part of Cartier's wonderful fantasy world. Cartier's animal illustrations flourished during World War II.In the dark environment of France being occupied by the German army, Cartier still has the courage to display a small brooch called "caged bird" in the window of the Rue de la Paix, made of blue, white and red, which symbolizes the deprivation of Free French people. In 1944, after the liberation of Paris, Cartier created a new brooch. This time the bird's wings were fully stretched out, singing happily in the open cage, expressing the praise of the French people for freedom and independence. In the years after the end of World War II, Cartier's animal kingdom has grown further.Women after the war longed for greater freedom and determined to seek a new form of femininity.These women present a breath of wild creatures, and Cartier perfectly interprets all this with the charm of cheetahs and the uninhibited crocodiles.Under the original bionic articulated mosaic technique, Cartier endows these three-dimensional animal shapes with unparalleled vitality and movement. In terms of plant-themed works, Cartier has designed a large number of exquisite diamond-encrusted flowers, two of which have become the favorites of Queen Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret. In 1953, the Queen inlaid a 23.6-carat Williamson pink diamond in a bouquet brooch created by Cartier in London, and wore this brooch to attend many important occasions in her life, including the wedding of her eldest son, Prince Charles.The Queen's younger sister, Princess Margaret, cherishes another white diamond-studded rose brooch created by Cartier's London atelier. Excerpted from "Cartier Treasures: A Century of Artistic Style" It is conceivable that every piece of Cartier's work can speak, and each piece tells a legendary story.For example, if you think about it, what a precious experience a honeymoon is, many people may have it once in a lifetime.Would you be stingy if you had to choose a piece or even a set of jewelry to commemorate your honeymoon?Won't!Because the value of this jewelry is not the price of the jewelry itself, but the value of the once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon to you.Suppose there are three rings like this in front of you: the first one is a Cartier leopard-shaped diamond ring, the second one is a big diamond, and the third one is a big ring made of pure gold.If you were to choose one of these rings for your wife, which one would you choose?Logically speaking, the price/performance ratio of large diamonds is definitely higher than that of Cartier, but if you look at it purely from the perspective of investment value, a diamond is a stone, it cannot be used as hard currency, and a large pure gold ring may be more cost-effective.But, think about it, which one will your wife remember when she tidies up her jewelry in 10 years?Definitely the first one, why?Because it is not only a peerless jewel, but also engraved with a legendary story, and the story of this celebrity can relive your own memory. There is also a psychological problem here, what does it mean?On the one hand, it is compared with your own past memories.For example, when I was young, I had no money, so when I got married, I bought a ring for my wife for a few hundred dollars.Even though my wife was very contented at the time, after more than ten years, when you get rich, you will find that your wife has never forgotten the shabbiness of the past. This lingering bad memory prompted her to buy expensive jewelry, and a pair of pearls The necklace is definitely not enough, if you don't buy ten or eight, her memory will not be compensated.We can also understand why some farmers and entrepreneurs like to wear gold and silver after they get rich. They don't necessarily wear expensive diamond rings, but prefer thick and big gold rings and necklaces.Because in essence, whether you have money or not, at the moment of buying jewelry, all the memories are condensed in it. Another aspect is to compare with other people at the same time.For example, two days later your wife finds out that the ring you gave her is similar to the one worn by her friend. If it is a pure gold ring worth a few hundred dollars, even if it is not exactly the same, as long as it is similar or from the same series , she will feel too vulgar.But what about a limited edition Cartier diamond ring worth tens of thousands of dollars?She will feel that the hero sees the same thing.And Cartier is very smart, even if it is the same series, there are often multiple different versions, so that everyone is "harmonious but different".For example, Cartier's tank series watches are as elegant as Jacqueline Kennedy, as sexy as Monica Bellucci, as powerful as Angelina Jolie, and as strong as Dai Princess Anna (Prmcess Diana), as gentle as Denmark's Crown Princess Mary (Princess Mary), these world-renowned women with completely different temperaments all wear this watch.Therefore, this watch has become more than a fashion accessory, it has become a legend in itself. If readers pay attention, they will find that the wife of US President Obama also wears this watch.Although Michelle Obama has entered a new era as the president's wife, but in the fashion field, Michelle?Obama is known as being comparable to Jacqueline Kennedy: their hairstyles and clothing styles are very similar, including white pearl necklaces. In addition, they also chose the same watch-Cartier tank watch, which has a great impact on other women. imagination.It was the first time for Michelle to disclose her life in the White House in the media. The platinum tank watch she wore on her wrist not only became the cover of the first lady "People", but also consolidated the pulse of the new era represented by Cartier. Speaking of this, you may have discovered that the essence of the jewelry and watch industries is very close, so many jewelry brands also run watches.Please think about it, what kind of watches are expensive watches?handmade watch.My eldest son gave me a handmade watch. What is particularly hateful is that the handmade watch is not punctual. I would rather he gave me a quartz watch. I spent 50 yuan to buy a quartz watch, which is very punctual.But he spent tens of thousands to give me a handmade watch, and I am too embarrassed to change it.May I ask why you spent tens of thousands of dollars to buy an inaccurate watch?These watches don't look like much, nor are they of great quality - because it's inaccurate.Why are you spending this money? Please take a look at how the advertisements of world famous watches are made.In an old wooden house, an old craftsman is making this and that, I don’t know what to make, various parts, springs, it’s very complicated.After playing around, I finally brought a watch, which was not accurate.But you will buy it, why?The nature of the industry.If you look at the entire history of Europe, what is it pursuing?What is the Olympics pursuing?What is its watch pursuing?Power and beauty.What are the statues in Europe like?We don’t have nude statues in China, they are all dragons, dogs, horses and other animals. The statues of Europeans are all naked, like Venus, not only naked, but also completely naked.What is it showing?Strength, the strength of the muscles of the whole body, and beauty, the full display of human muscles is the expression of strength and beauty.This is the fundamental spirit of the Olympic Games.And all of this is the inheritance of the entire European culture. From ancient Greek civilization to the present, their sculptures are mainly nude sculptures, expressing the strength and beauty of the human body.Under this cultural background, how do they make watches?The purpose of making watches is not to tell the time. You can use your mobile phone to tell the time. The purpose of making watches is that a master craftsman who has been trained for decades is very dedicated and sincere to make a great sculpture, and this sculpture What is shown is strength and beauty.You can notice that the really expensive men's watches are usually not white, red or pink, but pure metal.Its case is also transparent, just to show you the mechanism inside.This kind of watch that shows you the mechanism and spring inside is usually a relatively expensive watch.Why?Like human body sculpture, it expresses the European civilization starting from ancient Greece, that is, power and beauty.So you will spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy a watch that is not very punctual, because what you are looking at is not the time, but the "power and beauty displayed by machinery", and on this basis, you will show your noble identity and memory, This is the nature of the men's watch industry.For example, the 150th anniversary of the founding of the top jewelry brand Boucheron, the pioneer watchmaking brand Richard Wille jointly created a beautiful tourbillon watch RM 018 as a tribute.This watch condenses the essence of the two brands, and it is an epoch-making innovation in the watch manufacturing industry-using gears made of gemstones to create a tourbillon movement.Through the hollow dial design, you can see each unique gear.All gemstones are provided by Boucheron, while the platinum case and power part of the watch are made by Richard Wille.In order to highlight the dignity, this watch is limited to 30 pieces worldwide. In contrast to this is Cartier's women's watch.If you take a closer look at the advertisement of the Cartier tank series watch, you will find that it is not a watch, but an ornament on the wrist!Coordinate the design of the watch with various clothing and occasions. Whether you are a power woman or a fashion woman, you can find memories that resonate with you from different series, and you can even discover celebrities who resonate with you. They all wear Cartier.This is an important reason for the success of Cartier watches. Our watchmaking industry doesn't understand these at all. So many fancy things are made outside, but the price still can't be sold.If you want to sell at a high price, you can put diamonds. How disgusting you are, if you rely on diamonds to sell watches, you can just sell diamonds.Real masters don't rely on diamonds, they rely on the master to poke east and west to create strength and beauty.If we want to become a real multinational enterprise and truly become a world famous brand, we must display the essence of the essence of the industry through advertisements.The design works of these famous brands are not only fine jewelry and watch creations, but also have high artistic value, which are worthy of careful appreciation and pondering. At the same time, they are often cast a layer of legend because they belonged to celebrities.So to sum it up, you will find that what women wear is not a watch, but jewelry; what men wear is not a watch, but reflects their own taste for power and beauty. Readers may ask, since the international extreme luxury goods can hardly resist the impact of depression, do we still need to pay so much attention to the nature of the industry?I must say that although the economic recession has also brought a major impact on the ultimate luxury goods, this does not detract from their status as kings.And economies always recover, they are bound to be great again.How they grasp the nature of the industry to succeed becomes a model for our future.Although I don't expect Chinese entrepreneurs to reach the same level as Cartier in the short term, at least this book points out a direction for efforts.
Cartier has grasped the pulse of the times from the very beginning. Because times have changed, and at the end of the 19th century, a new wealthy class began to show strength in society. Please think about it, what kind of watches are expensive watches? Ladies don't wear watches, but jewelry; men don't wear watches, but reflect their own taste for power and beauty. Simply put, the essence of the jewelry industry is memory, that is to say, whether a piece of jewelry can carry the memories and stories that buyers want to engrave.A distinctive feature of jewelry consumer behavior is that the buyer is very aware of why the gift recipient needs the piece of jewelry.It can be said that there must be an unforgettable story hidden behind every piece of jewelry.Therefore, when buyers decide to buy a piece of jewelry, they must think that this specific style or material can entrust this story or convey this special feeling. The consumption purposes of jewelry include wedding celebrations, collections and status symbols, and the moment of consumption is to engrave a memory.For example, Daimond is a leading company in China's jewelry industry, and this essence can be seen from its product segmentation.Dai Mengde divides the products into several series: Swofia Collection, Love at First Sight, Two Hearts, Forever, Platinum Special Zone and Eternal Mark.In fact, this is to allow jewelry with similar designs to carry this memory according to the different demands of consumers at different stages of life.Chow Tai Fook’s web design is not as careful as that of Dai Mengde, but if we observe carefully, we will find that the main difference between different products is the special memory of different stages of life. Of course, both Diamonde and Chow Tai Fook are mid-end brands and cannot be compared with the world's top ten top jewelry brands. Therefore, we need to verify whether the essence of this industry is correct from two aspects.Table 11-1 lists the world's top ten top jewelry brands. Let's talk about the commonality of these top brands first.Without exception, these top ten brands have a very long history.The oldest brands are Tiffany, which was founded in New York, USA in 1837, Tijue, which was founded in Paris, France, and Cartier, which was founded in Paris, France in 1874.Even the youngest Italian brand Damiani was founded 85 years ago in 1924.The centuries-old history of these brands is the best proof that memory is the essence of this industry. Famous far and wide Let's take a look at the legendary story of Cartier's establishment. In 1847, Louis-Francois Cartier took over the jewelry workshop of his teacher Adolphe Picard located at 29 Montorgueil Street in Paris, and the Cartier brand was born.If you were to open a jewelry store, how would you do business?Maybe you will set some diamonds indiscriminately and start asking for sky-high prices, fooling one after another, and earning some quick money, just like the status quo of our Chinese jewelry industry.Maybe you could just make traditional gold rings, not too far off from a sewing thimble. However, Cartier has grasped the pulse of the times from the very beginning. France in the 19th century was in constant regime change. In the 1850s, after Napoleon III ruled France, society returned to its former glitz.Social activities such as celebrations and balls were frequently held in the upper class of Paris and the nobles of the palace, and there was a scene of singing and dancing everywhere.The jewelry designed by Cartier has mastered the atmosphere of this era, which is a kind of color, bright and dazzling, and has a strong Renaissance style. In 1852, Cartier moved its jewelry store to 5 Rue Neuve-des-Petits-Champs, which is located near the fashionable back street of the Royal Palace District and the magnificent Orleans Palace.This important relocation has opened up a new situation for the positive interaction between Cartier and the royal family.For example, Cartier's first guest of honor was the Countess of Uwekerke (Comtesse de Nieuwerkerke), an important artistic figure during the Napoleon III period.The Countess's first order at Cartier was a cameo necklace with vintage gemstones in classic taste.Under the strong recommendation of the Countess, Princess Mathilde and Empress Eugenie became Cartier's customers. But until this time, Cartier's main customers were only a few royal nobles.Cartier did not become famous until 1904, why did it take 50 years to become famous?Accumulate craftsmanship?Wrong, the famous work 50 years later was produced by this founder.Do you accumulate designs?Wrong, the famous work 50 years later was still designed by this person.As for the purpose, you must know that people usually have extraordinary ideas and epoch-making design talents when they are young. So what has Cartier been doing in the past 50 years?Cartier is condensing memory!For more than fifty years, Cartier has been accumulating aristocratic contacts and memories, so when he made gold watches for his old friend Santos in 1904, he did not engage in luxury or design breakthroughs. , but to grasp the essence of the industry, that is, relying on years, memory and experience to condense into a great and extraordinary design.Therefore, Santos was greatly appreciated.In this year, Cartier became the royal jewelry supplier of the British royal family, and was hailed as "the emperor's jeweler, the jeweler's emperor" by King Edward VII of England.This honor made Cartier immediately surpass other jewelry brands and become the king of the jewelry industry.Cartier kept improving. In 1938, Queen Elizabeth appeared in front of the world wearing a bracelet watch specially designed by Cartier, which once again made Cartier the darling of international attention. At this stage, it is already a very stable and glorious business for Cartier to provide high-quality small batch orders for the royal family members.But times had changed, and at the end of the 19th century, a new wealthy class began to show strength in society.Although these capitalists lacked noble blood, their wealth was enough to sublimate them into the top social circle.They modeled themselves on the royal and aristocratic lifestyle, and even began to order more dazzling jewelry than royal jewelry.In order to grasp the pulse of the new era, in 1899, Cartier once again moved its store to No. 13 Rue de la Paix, a high-end commodity center in Paris, opening a new era for Cartier. In 1902 and 1909, Cartier established branches in London and New York respectively, becoming an international jewelry brand. I want to tell readers, what is great culture and art?That must be able to call out the collective personality of this era.For example, the greatness of Lu Xun's articles does not lie in technical details such as writing style or logic, but in the fact that the spirit of Ah Q in his writing calls out to our collective personality.In the same way, first-class jewelry must be a great work that calls out the collective personality of this era and leads the memory of the era. The first industrial revolution from the late 18th century to the mid-19th century had an unprecedented impact on all fields of the world.In the art world, influenced by the mechanical aesthetics of industrial culture, Art Deco style began to prevail in various fields such as architecture, fine arts, and applied arts.The decorative art of this period completely broke the red tape style of the past, and changed to a symmetrical geometric composition, depicted in contrasting colors, clearly showing a rigorous and modern style.Since then, the Cartier studio has also complied with the call of the times, and began to create brooches with geometric lines including square, round, and diamond shapes, and introduced colorful rubies and sapphires as decorations in the monotonous world of platinum and diamonds in the past. This was unimaginable before. The following excerpts are a few paragraphs describing the history of Cartier, which will help readers understand how Cartier grasps the essence of the industry. In 1909, the art world underwent a disruptive change: Ballets Russes starring dance stars Vaslav Nijinsky and Tarnara Karsavina ) was a huge success at the Theater Duchatelet.Louis Cartier and his designer Charles Jacqueau were deeply moved by the brilliant colors used in the stage scenery.Orange and yellow, green and blue, blue and sky blue, red, pink and purple - such a bright color combination, confirmed that Cartier combined emerald and sapphire, amethyst and ruby, and even tried other more Possibility of bold color combinations.Therefore, while creating the decorative art style of jewelry, Cartier boldly broke the ideological confinement of traditional color matching.Black agate, coral, and colored gemstones have become Cartier's most favored materials, and the fresh breath of modernism is everywhere.In a crown created in 1914, Cartier even used black steel, which was matched with platinum, rubies and diamonds, giving the jewelry an unprecedented modern texture. However, the most favored color combination at the time was undoubtedly blue and green. In 1923, Cartier created a precious and gorgeous pendant with a cabochon sapphire weighing 121 carats and carved emeralds.This combination of blue and green is brisk and harmonious in color, showing subtle texture changes on polished and carved surfaces. During this period, Cartier also extensively absorbed the essence of multiculturalism in the world, and used innovative designs to bring eternal new life to the cultural imprints of exotic places.The gods and plant patterns of ancient Egypt, the miniature paintings of the Persian Middle Ages, and the traditional gemstone carving techniques of India have all given Cartier an endless source of inspiration.Each piece of exotic treasures expresses Cartier's unique interpretation of world culture. In the late 1930s, World War II broke out.Intense and brutal wars have shaken entire societies, bringing displacement and grief to people who have lost loved ones.People are powerless to change the reality of suffering, and can only seek solace in the spiritual world.A wave of naturalism emerged: seeing nature as the ultimate refuge from human cannibalism, the transcendent world of animals and plants, reflected in every aspect of art.The legendary Ms. Jeanne Toussaint (Jeanne Toussaint) served as the director of Cartier's high-end jewelry department. She has extraordinary taste, rich imagination and wisdom, and has a keen sense of social trends.Under her careful attention, all of Cartier's designs present a new feeling of being close to nature.Animals and plants have become an important part of Cartier's wonderful fantasy world. Cartier's animal illustrations flourished during World War II.In the dark environment of France being occupied by the German army, Cartier still has the courage to display a small brooch called "caged bird" in the window of the Rue de la Paix, made of blue, white and red, which symbolizes the deprivation of Free French people. In 1944, after the liberation of Paris, Cartier created a new brooch. This time the bird's wings were fully stretched out, singing happily in the open cage, expressing the praise of the French people for freedom and independence. In the years after the end of World War II, Cartier's animal kingdom has grown further.Women after the war longed for greater freedom and determined to seek a new form of femininity.These women present a breath of wild creatures, and Cartier perfectly interprets all this with the charm of cheetahs and the uninhibited crocodiles.Under the original bionic articulated mosaic technique, Cartier endows these three-dimensional animal shapes with unparalleled vitality and movement. In terms of plant-themed works, Cartier has designed a large number of exquisite diamond-encrusted flowers, two of which have become the favorites of Queen Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret. In 1953, the Queen inlaid a 23.6-carat Williamson pink diamond in a bouquet brooch created by Cartier in London, and wore this brooch to attend many important occasions in her life, including the wedding of her eldest son, Prince Charles.The Queen's younger sister, Princess Margaret, cherishes another white diamond-studded rose brooch created by Cartier's London atelier. Excerpted from "Cartier Treasures: A Century of Artistic Style" It is conceivable that every piece of Cartier's work can speak, and each piece tells a legendary story.For example, if you think about it, what a precious experience a honeymoon is, many people may have it once in a lifetime.Would you be stingy if you had to choose a piece or even a set of jewelry to commemorate your honeymoon?Won't!Because the value of this jewelry is not the price of the jewelry itself, but the value of the once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon to you.Suppose there are three rings like this in front of you: the first one is a Cartier leopard-shaped diamond ring, the second one is a big diamond, and the third one is a big ring made of pure gold.If you were to choose one of these rings for your wife, which one would you choose?Logically speaking, the price/performance ratio of large diamonds is definitely higher than that of Cartier, but if you look at it purely from the perspective of investment value, a diamond is a stone, it cannot be used as hard currency, and a large pure gold ring may be more cost-effective.But, think about it, which one will your wife remember when she tidies up her jewelry in 10 years?Definitely the first one, why?Because it is not only a peerless jewel, but also engraved with a legendary story, and the story of this celebrity can relive your own memory. There is also a psychological problem here, what does it mean?On the one hand, it is compared with your own past memories.For example, when I was young, I had no money, so when I got married, I bought a ring for my wife for a few hundred dollars.Even though my wife was very contented at the time, after more than ten years, when you get rich, you will find that your wife has never forgotten the shabbiness of the past. This lingering bad memory prompted her to buy expensive jewelry, and a pair of pearls The necklace is definitely not enough, if you don't buy ten or eight, her memory will not be compensated.We can also understand why some farmers and entrepreneurs like to wear gold and silver after they get rich. They don't necessarily wear expensive diamond rings, but prefer thick and big gold rings and necklaces.Because in essence, whether you have money or not, at the moment of buying jewelry, all the memories are condensed in it. Another aspect is to compare with other people at the same time.For example, two days later your wife finds out that the ring you gave her is similar to the one worn by her friend. If it is a pure gold ring worth a few hundred dollars, even if it is not exactly the same, as long as it is similar or from the same series , she will feel too vulgar.But what about a limited edition Cartier diamond ring worth tens of thousands of dollars?She will feel that the hero sees the same thing.And Cartier is very smart, even if it is the same series, there are often multiple different versions, so that everyone is "harmonious but different".For example, Cartier's tank series watches are as elegant as Jacqueline Kennedy, as sexy as Monica Bellucci, as powerful as Angelina Jolie, and as strong as Dai Princess Anna (Prmcess Diana), as gentle as Denmark's Crown Princess Mary (Princess Mary), these world-renowned women with completely different temperaments all wear this watch.Therefore, this watch has become more than a fashion accessory, it has become a legend in itself. If readers pay attention, they will find that the wife of US President Obama also wears this watch.Although Michelle Obama has entered a new era as the president's wife, but in the fashion field, Michelle?Obama is known as being comparable to Jacqueline Kennedy: their hairstyles and clothing styles are very similar, including white pearl necklaces. In addition, they also chose the same watch-Cartier tank watch, which has a great impact on other women. imagination.It was the first time for Michelle to disclose her life in the White House in the media. The platinum tank watch she wore on her wrist not only became the cover of the first lady "People", but also consolidated the pulse of the new era represented by Cartier. Speaking of this, you may have discovered that the essence of the jewelry and watch industries is very close, so many jewelry brands also run watches.Please think about it, what kind of watches are expensive watches?handmade watch.My eldest son gave me a handmade watch. What is particularly hateful is that the handmade watch is not punctual. I would rather he gave me a quartz watch. I spent 50 yuan to buy a quartz watch, which is very punctual.But he spent tens of thousands to give me a handmade watch, and I am too embarrassed to change it.May I ask why you spent tens of thousands of dollars to buy an inaccurate watch?These watches don't look like much, nor are they of great quality - because it's inaccurate.Why are you spending this money? Please take a look at how the advertisements of world famous watches are made.In an old wooden house, an old craftsman is making this and that, I don’t know what to make, various parts, springs, it’s very complicated.After playing around, I finally brought a watch, which was not accurate.But you will buy it, why?The nature of the industry.If you look at the entire history of Europe, what is it pursuing?What is the Olympics pursuing?What is its watch pursuing?Power and beauty.What are the statues in Europe like?We don’t have nude statues in China, they are all dragons, dogs, horses and other animals. The statues of Europeans are all naked, like Venus, not only naked, but also completely naked.What is it showing?Strength, the strength of the muscles of the whole body, and beauty, the full display of human muscles is the expression of strength and beauty.This is the fundamental spirit of the Olympic Games.And all of this is the inheritance of the entire European culture. From ancient Greek civilization to the present, their sculptures are mainly nude sculptures, expressing the strength and beauty of the human body.Under this cultural background, how do they make watches?The purpose of making watches is not to tell the time. You can use your mobile phone to tell the time. The purpose of making watches is that a master craftsman who has been trained for decades is very dedicated and sincere to make a great sculpture, and this sculpture What is shown is strength and beauty.You can notice that the really expensive men's watches are usually not white, red or pink, but pure metal.Its case is also transparent, just to show you the mechanism inside.This kind of watch that shows you the mechanism and spring inside is usually a relatively expensive watch.Why?Like human body sculpture, it expresses the European civilization starting from ancient Greece, that is, power and beauty.So you will spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy a watch that is not very punctual, because what you are looking at is not the time, but the "power and beauty displayed by machinery", and on this basis, you will show your noble identity and memory, This is the nature of the men's watch industry.For example, the 150th anniversary of the founding of the top jewelry brand Boucheron, the pioneer watchmaking brand Richard Wille jointly created a beautiful tourbillon watch RM 018 as a tribute.This watch condenses the essence of the two brands, and it is an epoch-making innovation in the watch manufacturing industry-using gears made of gemstones to create a tourbillon movement.Through the hollow dial design, you can see each unique gear.All gemstones are provided by Boucheron, while the platinum case and power part of the watch are made by Richard Wille.In order to highlight the dignity, this watch is limited to 30 pieces worldwide. In contrast to this is Cartier's women's watch.If you take a closer look at the advertisement of the Cartier tank series watch, you will find that it is not a watch, but an ornament on the wrist!Coordinate the design of the watch with various clothing and occasions. Whether you are a power woman or a fashion woman, you can find memories that resonate with you from different series, and you can even discover celebrities who resonate with you. They all wear Cartier.This is an important reason for the success of Cartier watches. Our watchmaking industry doesn't understand these at all. So many fancy things are made outside, but the price still can't be sold.If you want to sell at a high price, you can put diamonds. How disgusting you are, if you rely on diamonds to sell watches, you can just sell diamonds.Real masters don't rely on diamonds, they rely on the master to poke east and west to create strength and beauty.If we want to become a real multinational enterprise and truly become a world famous brand, we must display the essence of the essence of the industry through advertisements.The design works of these famous brands are not only fine jewelry and watch creations, but also have high artistic value, which are worthy of careful appreciation and pondering. At the same time, they are often cast a layer of legend because they belonged to celebrities.So to sum it up, you will find that what women wear is not a watch, but jewelry; what men wear is not a watch, but reflects their own taste for power and beauty. Readers may ask, since the international extreme luxury goods can hardly resist the impact of depression, do we still need to pay so much attention to the nature of the industry?I must say that although the economic recession has also brought a major impact on the ultimate luxury goods, this does not detract from their status as kings.And economies always recover, they are bound to be great again.How they grasp the nature of the industry to succeed becomes a model for our future.Although I don't expect Chinese entrepreneurs to reach the same level as Cartier in the short term, at least this book points out a direction for efforts.