Cartier on Saturday opened its newest boutique in New York, located at 102 Greene Street in the city’s SoHo neighborhood.
Cartier has a storied history in New York. Some of the brand’s most iconic jewels were created in the city during the 1960s and ’70s. Aldo Cipullo – a New York resident – designed the Cartier Love and Juste un Clou bracelets, reflective of the sleek, architectural minimalism that prevailed in this period. The designs persist as some of Cartier’s most coveted creations.
“It’s impossible to speak of Cartier’s history without mentioning New York,” Walter Bolognino, Cartier’s North America president and CEO said in a statement. “We’ve had a presence in this city for more than 100 years. Opening our SoHo boutique represents another chapter in our New York story.”
The location has a history of its own. It was completed in 1881 by architect Henry Fernbach, whose French-inspired cast iron designs proliferated in SoHo in the late nineteenth century. The building is located in a landmarked area of the neighborhood now referred to as the “Cast Iron Historic District.”
The entrance reveals what Cartier refers to as its “gallery,” dedicated to product offerings and care service. The second floor of the boutique – what Cartier calls the “speakeasy” – boasts a green marble bar coupled with lounge seating, offering its clients a more personalized way to engage with its watches and jewels while enjoying hospitality service. The loft on the third floor recalls historic downtown spaces that doubled as studios and living quarters for creatives in postwar New York. It has a living room, dining room and library. The fourth-floor terrace and rooftop garden will be open to guests in Spring 2024.
The boutique offers a full range of Cartier’s creations, including jewelry, fine jewelry, watches, leather goods and fragrances. Several other items are placed in Cartier’s “Art of Living” product category Cartier, which refers to a myriad of personal products and art objects in the Cartier style. Writing instruments, trinket trays, scented candles; and other items, such as snow globes and blankets can be found here.
There will be a few exclusive designs representing the connections between Cartier and New York. For example, a limited-edition Écrou bracelet, in brushed black PVD-finish rose gold with bolts paved with 180 brilliant-cut brown diamonds created in 1970s New York will be part of the offerings. In watchmaking, a limited-edition Panthère de Cartier timepiece in rose gold, set with brown brilliant-cut diamonds and punctuated with a sparkling charcoal grey grained dial, is an iconic design reborn for Cartier SoHo. There will also be special-edition Cartier Eyewear and custom stationery, featuring the emblematic panthère, complete SoHo’s offerings.
Paris-based architectural firm Studioparisien led the design project, creating a contemporary aesthetic in the four-story loft that “weds Cartier’s timeless design codes with SoHo’s legacy of industry and creativity,” the company said. Custom artworks include straw marquetry panels by Studio François Mascarello, a wall hanging by Atelier Antonin Anzil and a mural of the Maison’s emblematic panther. They are designed to complement the building’s original cast iron ceilings, columns and barrel skylight. The main entrance, though re-centered, retains the iconic 14-foot iron door designed by William Tarr, sculptor and former tenant of the address in the 1960s and ’70s.
The new boutique complements Cartier’s other retail locations in New York, which include a store in the Hudson Yards mall, and the historic Fifth Avenue Maison. A private home acquired by Cartier in 1917 in exchange for an exceptional pearl necklace. The New York flagship underwent a redesign led by architectural designer Laura Gonzalez.