An Evening With Cartier

Last Thursday evening, I got the opportunity to attend a student cocktail event at the Cartier boutique in Geneva. The event was titled Fauna and Flora Cocktail: Innovation and Modernity by Cartier. I was able to attend the event through my university here in Geneva. My friend works in the career services office where they receive invitations for all kinds of events, conferences, and jobs. The invitation only allowed for a few students from the university to attend so she put our names down.

The event started with a series of presentations by different people within the Cartier brand. We heard from the product management, marketing, manufacturing, and the craftsmanship perspective. I don’t think I had high expectations for how interested or engaging the presentations would be, but I was surprised.

One of the fascinating points discussed was the role of digital technology in manufacturing. Much of what Cartier is know for is watches. Watchmaking can be considered both a science and an art. Making watches is very technical task as the inner workings require a lot of mechanical skill, but it is also artful in it craft and precision. It is one thing to put together a machine and it is another to make it beautiful. To make a good watch you need to have the best of human skill and technological innovation. One way Cartier has utilized technological innovation is to partner with a gaming organization to create augmented reality headsets for their craftsmen. The augmented reality allows for the people working on pieces to follow along with a three dimensional model of the piece. They are hoping to implement it further to allow the craftsmen to consult in real time with experts and have directions play out in real time.

Following the presentation, the group got a private tour of the boutique followed by some time for networking. Champagne and small treats were served as we chatted away surrounded by hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry. The experience was jarring.

The event was brought about to one: create brand loyalty. The assumption was that we as select students from elite universities in a wealthy European country would one day be able to afford a Cartier piece. It was a selection of privilege. Some of the students in attendance wouldn’t need to wait for a future salary to afford Cartier. A few of the student’s were actively trying on watches and jewelry for a potential purchase, and I could count on both hands the luxury items worn. There was a Prada bag, a Dior belt, Manolo Blahnik shoes, an Hermes belt, and a Balenciaga bag to name a few. The event’s second goal: to look for potential hires. The presentation was a sales pitch designed to highlight the goals, workings, and values of the organization. It was meant to court us into believing in the value and strength of Cartier not just as a brand for purchase but as an employer looking to hire.

The evening was magical and opulent as I got to look at diamonds and watches while sipping champagne. Cartier even gave us gifts for attending, including a panther silk scarf and a limited edition poster. The event was as seductive and beautiful as you can imagine, but the two objectives put the experience in stark tension. I couldn’t look past how it made me feel. I stressed for about two weeks leading up to the event about what to wear, how to do my hair and makeup, what jewelry do you even wear to a luxury brand’s event, and how do I poise myself. I hated how I wanted to belong, or appear as though I belonged, in a space designed around exclusivity. I hated how this game of belonging that luxury brands play make you feel like an imposter. It felt as though another person, not Savannah, was perched on my seat.

Even though I felt like this, I know that this place was still designed for me because like all European luxury brands the assumption of exclusivity is an assumption of whiteness. In the room of nearly thirty people there were about four people of color (only two of which were women of color and none of the people were black). In Europe, a lot of the conversation about diversity is centered around gender and ethnicity, not race. The conversations are limited and less intersectional as championing gender equality in Europe usually means the promotion of white women. Dr. Stefanie Boulila’s, head researcher at the Institute of Sociocultural Community Development at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, work shows that the discussion on ethnicity in Europe is usually limited to representation of nationalities as a way to avoid the discomfort of tackling racial issues while seeming progressive and tolerant.

Luxury brands have notoriously had a penchant for racism. In 2018, Prada pulled a $550 keychain from its collection after it went viral for its comparison to blackface and Little Sambo, a racist caricature from children’s books from the 1900s. In 2018, Dolce and Gabbana aired advertisements in China featuring an Asian model eating Western food with chopsticks. The man speaking in the voiceover mocks the traditional usage of chopsticks, mocks the tonal language, and uses sexually suggestive language while the model acts confused. The advert is not just racist but it is also misogynistic in it fetishization of Asian women. In both 2005 and in 2013, Oprah was denied service at high end stores. In 2013, the sales associate refused to show her a bag that Oprah had asked to look at because it was “too expensive”. A 2021 Gallup poll shows that 35% of black Americans report mistreatment while shopping in a store. Racism and racial profiling are not new to fashion and luxury.

The problem that luxury jewelry brands have with race doesn’t start when the customers enter the store. The industry of extracting precious gems and metals has been flooded with bloody conflict, child labour abuses, colonialist brutality, environmental erosion, and other human rights abuses for the last two plus centuries. Cartier and other brands are usually not the ones directly involved with the extraction of the gems and precious metals. They purchase them from suppliers who they are not obligated to report. According to a Human Rights Watch Report, often the brands will take the word of their suppliers over issues like human rights conditions to avoid taking tangible steps towards responsible sourcing. While Cartier has taken steps towards sustainability and responsibility by having full chain custody over a portion of their gold supply and making public their code of conduct, they rely heavily on the Responsible Jewelry Council (RJC) for auditing the suppliers, and they rarely use their own third-party auditors. It is also unclear how the company enforces the standards set by the RJC, addresses human rights abuses, or sets standards for labor practices. (This is all according to the Human Rights Watch Report).

What I find the most interesting is how brands, companies, and organizations choose to respond to this and tailor their image. Racism, discrimination, and systemic abuse exists everywhere and no person, company, or brand is exempt for examining their biases and systemic failures. Luxury brands, fashion house, and jewelry manufactures are institutions of power just like the government is. They have the ability to transform the social and cultural landscape we all occupy. It isn’t a frivolous pursuit but it is rather a deep reflection on power and hierarchies (whether it is class, race, politics). Cartier seems to want to step into the innovation of the future while trying to hold onto the baggage of the past. I truly wonder what the step into the future means for luxury brands like Cartier. Luxury branding will always need to be exclusive on some level whether that’s to reflect the finery of the garments or the maintenance of status. There will always exist an in-group and out-group based around class and socio-economic status. Because of this I don’t know if luxury brands can every truly be diverse, sustainable, or equitable endeavors. I imagine there is someone beyond me who has thought about this more. Until then, I will probably tie the beautiful red panther silk scarf around the handle of my thrifted bag or put the poster they gifted me on my wall.