Cartier sunglasses: history and timeless elegance

The history of Cartier and its sunglasses

The history of the maison Cartier begins in 1847 in Paris, where Louis-François Cartier took over the jewelry workshop of Adolphe Picard to found Cartier. The founder was recognized for his work with fine watchmaking, highlighting in these early years his “mystery clock”, a watch with a transparent dial that hid its mechanism.

Years later would be his son Alfred Cartier who would take the reins of the company, but who were responsible for establishing the brand worldwide were the grandsons of Louis-François Cartier: Louis, Pierre and Jacques.

Thanks to the global leap and the mastery of the firm with fine watchmaking, in a few years Cartier became known as “king of jewelers” or “jeweler of kings”, since its most precious pieces captivated the European performance.

It is at this time when the already iconic models in watches were born and now also give name to their collections of sunglasses: Santos (the first wristwatch), Tank, Pasha or Calibre.

As early as 1887, Cartier began to manufacture unique pieces that were the forerunner of today's eyewear. In his Paris workshop, he produced spectacles, theatrical binoculars and the first folding shell spectacles. Like his jewelry and watch collections, these pieces were also works of art.

The Cartier family owned the maison until 1964, when Pierre passed away and the directors of each subsidiary decided to sell it. Today it belongs to the prestigious Swiss group Richemont. In addition, since 2017 Kering Eyewear and Cartier collaborate in the development, manufacture and worldwide distribution of the collection of its frames.

The evolution of Cartier Sunglasses

Cartier is a firm that has been able to adapt to the times without losing its essence and excellence. Each piece of its Eyewear collections are still works of art, but now they are no longer something exclusive to royalty or high society. More and more young people are daring to wear Cartier sunglasses thanks to its new shapes and the redesign of its most iconic models.

It is true that in most of their collections are still dominated by invisible frames or metallic gold, we also see in their collections of Cartier women's glasses that includes acetate frames with more rounded shapes or cat-eye style.

Some of the models that are never missing in Vytria are the icons of Cartier: Panthère, which bears the same name of the watch created in 1914; Santos, which takes its name from the male aviator watch in honor of the father of aviation Alberto Santos Dumont; or Premiére, whose first collection of sunglasses was launched in 1983.

Timeless elegance Cartier sunglasses

If there are two words that characterize Cartier sunglasses are elegance and timelessness. Something that began with the watchmaking and jewelry lines and that they transferred from the first moment to the Eyewear collections.

Women and men who wear Cartier glasses are loyal customers to the maison and do not want another piece, but they are also people who like luxury, glasses with a careful design in every detail, handmade and of the highest quality. They value above all things the savoir-faire that Cartier puts into the manufacture of each model.

Stars and celebrities who wear Cartier sunglasses

Throughout the history of the maison Cartier both in the jewelry or watchmaking sector and in Eyewear there have been many celebrities who have worn their pieces. As we said at the beginning, the first to notice the quality and exclusivity of their pieces were the members of European royalty.

But focusing more on recent years there are some models and celebrities that many of us will remember for appearing in the press wearing Cartier sunglasses. Tom Cruise chose the Santos CT0038S 016 de Cartier model to wear in the seventh installment of his Mission Impossible saga. Mexican musician Christian Nodal went viral for showing off his Cartier jewelry and glasses on TikTok.

The Cartier Vendome Santos by Cartier worn by Christopher Walken in the 1985 James Bond saga film Panorama to Kill has also gone down in history. Another fan of Cartier lenses was the American architect Philip Johnson who in 1934 asked the maison to recreate Le Corbusier's glasses.

Iconic Cartier Sunglasses Collections

We have already mentioned some of the iconic Cartier sunglasses collections and models and the firm itself has made it clear that they will never stop making them and continue to reinterpret them, as they are its hallmark within the Eyewear sector.

Panthère de Cartier

The first of these iconic collections of Cartier is Panthère, which, as its name suggests, refers to a panther. And if we talk about Cartier, we cannot forget Jeanne Toussaint, an icon of Parisian style who joined the house in 1913.

Louis Cartier called her the Panthere because she always wore a full-length panther coat and that's how a year later a panther appeared in one of the Cartier watches. In the year 1927 Toussaint joins designer Peter Lemarchand to start creating 3D panthers and add them to Cartier pieces. This is how the famous panther-shaped brooch worn by Wallis Simpson was born.

Today, several models of sunglasses and frames of the Panthère collection continue to highlight the three-dimensional panther and are one of the most demanded of the entire firm.

Pasha de Cartier

Another key piece in the history of Cartier is the Pasha watch created in 1985 under an aura of mystery and secrets that give it a special charm. The original watch was made of solid gold and had a sportier style that was a little out of the classic Cartier aesthetics of that year, but it was a furor precisely because of this.

The Pasha de Cartier sunglasses collection consists of models with more rounded shapes and metal frames that perfectly reflect the most elegant and timeless style of the maison.

In Vytria you will find Cartier men's glasses from the Pasha collection in both gold and silver, with metallic, fine and sophisticated frames.

Première de Cartier

The Cartier Première Eyewear collection is one of the most extensive of our website of this firm, mainly with male designs of both sunglasses and eyeglass frames.

They are models that have clearly evolved since their beginnings, although it is true that they try to maintain the essence of that first launch of Première glasses in 1983 with naval style designs.

Cartier sunglasses framed in this collection have a clear vintage air combined with modern touches that are changing season after season.

Santos de Cartier

The name of the Santos de Cartier collection is due to the men's aviator watch that bears the same name in honor of Alberto Santos Dumont, considered the father of aviation.

The style of the Santos de Cartier sunglasses is characterized by its aviator or pilot shape, with retro airs and that take you to the best trips of your life or those you have always dreamed of doing. A clear example is the Santos Light CT0324S model.

A new hallmark of the Santos de Cartier sunglasses for men is the central leather clasp that you will also find in Vytria Eyewear.

Signature C

Without any doubt, the Cartier Signature C collection is the most extensive collection of the maison on our website, both frames and sunglasses for men and women. As the name suggests, these designs seem to be “signed” expressly by Cartier, since the most characteristic models are differentiated by the letter C on their hinge.

There are endless options for lens shape, frame material and lens color. In the men's collection, there is an abundance of open frames and lenses in elegant and sober tones. However, for women, although there are also many rimless glasses, we have a wide variety of models in premium acetate with cat eye or oversize square shape.

Cartier sunglasses today

Cartier sunglasses today remain the most exclusive on the market and it is very important for us to have the validation for their sale. Choosing Cartier is choosing excellence and wearing a work of art on your face. They are unique pieces that have limited units that make them even more special. Handmade, with the utmost precision in every detail of the glasses.

If you are looking for the best for your eyes, choose one of the Cartier sunglasses models, they are glasses for life.

Best-selling Cartier sunglasses at Vytria Eyewear

If you want to buy Cartier sunglasses online and you are looking for the recommendation of Vytria's customers, we will tell you to bet on the C Decor model from the Signature C collection. We have a very large catalog of sunglasses for all tastes and are undoubtedly the bestselling model since we launched Cartier.

Even so, we recommend you look at the entire Cartier catalog to see that each piece is unique and find yours.