Cartier — Local services in Paris

My husband bought me a Cartier engagement ring in Paris 10 months ago. A meaningful gift, chosen with love, from a brand supposedly known for quality, elegance, and exceptional service. At least, that’s what we believed.

Less than a year later (yes, less than ONE year), I discovered that two diamonds had fallen out of the ring. I currently live in Shanghai and immediately went to the local Cartier boutique to have it inspected. After reviewing the ring, they told me it was my fault and not a manufacturing defect, so we would have to pay for the repair. We reached out to customer service in both Paris and Shanghai – and both said the same thing: "It’s due to wear and tear."

Really? After 10 months, during which the ring wasn’t even worn daily, always carefully handled, never exposed to sports, chemicals, or any harsh conditions?

Here are my questions:

How can a ring lose diamonds in under a year? Why isn’t there any kind of warranty or coverage within the first year? What are we even paying for if there’s zero post-sale support? And the worst part? The incredibly rude and dismissive reply from the Paris salesperson when we reached out for help: “To be fully transparent, I don't quite see the relevance of linking this to high jewelry.” So according to him, a ring losing diamonds has nothing to do with the quality of high-end jewelry? Ridiculous.

We are deeply disappointed, upset, and feel completely let down. Cartier offers champagne when you buy, but if something goes wrong, you're on your own. Never again. And I will make sure to share this experience everywhere, because a brand that markets itself as "luxury" should guarantee both quality and...

Louis Cartier made that watch exclusively for Alberto Santos-Dumont, and Alberto wore it with proud and joy in his every single flight. Alberto was a very well known public figure in Europe with an energetic and colorful personality. The Cartier watch he was wearing was noticed instantly and became pretty popular. Many photographs were published in the newspapers and everyone started wondering about “the thing” that strapped to Alberto’s wrist. Alberto wore a wrist watch fastened to his wrist by a long leather strap and a buckle instead of a big, heavy pocket watch.

At that time a wrist watch was not a novelty as Patek Philippe designed several samples already but, they were all women’s watches. Beside being the first pilot watch, Santos-Dumont was also the first wristwatch for men.

Later, Cartier cooperated with movement manufacturer Edmond Jaeger to produce the Santos watch  on a regular basis.

Santos, which was named after the adventurer Alberto Santos-Dumont finally went on sale in 1911.  The watch was a great success however, the environment was changing and watches got their part of that change accordingly. World War II started and round watches dominated the production as per military service requirements. However, Cartier managed to keep his masterpiece alive making it a...

We were shopping to replace my lost classic Trinity wedding ring. We bought our original matching rings 29 years ago at a shopping mall in the USA. That shopping experience was entirely transactional, and it didn't differ from shopping for food or running shoes. I had to leave the ring in the store for the jeweler to size it. When I picked it up two days later, I wore it home, and carried an empty ring box and a store receipt.

The contrast with shopping at Cartier in Paris cannot be overstated! We originally visited the store at La Samaritaine, where Shan Du made us feel like honored guests, graciously working with us with warmth, good humor, expert advice and full attention to detail, while we sipped champagne. When she determined that my exact size wasn't in stock, she found one in the store at Galeries Lafayette and made sure they reserved it for us.

We actually purchased the ring at Galeries Lafayette, Shan Du, at the first store, truly did all the hard work of making the sale, and we hope she receives her...