The 177-year history behind Cartier, the iconic jewelry brand that's a favorite of the royals and worth $12 billion

For example, Lily Collins wore a Cartier necklace made of platinum, emeralds, diamonds, and rock crystal, according to Forbes, to the Met Gala in 2019.

During an appearance on "The Late Late Show," she told host James Corden that the necklace came with "its own security guard" and a woman who had a special key to unlock the necklace herself.

According to Cartier's timeline, Louis-François took over his old master Adolphe Picard's shop in 1847 when he was 28 years old, renaming it after himself.

Princess Mathilde, the cousin of Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie, bought her first Cartier creation in 1856. This immediately elevated the brand.

This led other royals, such as the empress, to flock to Cartier for their jewelry needs.

Alfred moved the business to the Rue de la Paix, an exclusive address in Paris' jewelry district, the Gentleman's Journal reported.

The first of Alfred's sons, Louis, joined the business in 1898. As Cartier's website says, he played "a pivotal role in the evolution of the Cartier brand."

His brothers soon followed.

Upon the geographic split, the three Cartier branches essentially became their own separate companies, each with its own leader, designs, and clientele.

Even today, these are three of the biggest markets for Cartier.

The mystery clock is a mechanism that makes it appear like the hands on the watch are floating above its face — of course, they're not. 

As The New York Times explained, the hands are actually fixed to crystal discs that are see-through and, therefore, look invisible.

The first Mystery Clock was launched in 1912.

The Santos was designed in 1904 by Louis for his friend Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian pilot. It was the first time Louis created something designed for a specific person in his life.

The Santos, which is still sold today and ranges from $3,900 to $68,000, was designed specifically to help pilots tell time while flying.

The Tank watch was created in 1917, although it didn't go on sale to the public until 1919.

Andy Warhol, Princess Diana, Cary Grant, Rami Malek, Jackie Kennedy … the list goes on of famous people who have loved this rectangular-shaped watch.

It started in 1917 when, according to Haute Time, Louis was inspired by the tanks he saw on the front lines of World War I.

You can have your own Tank watch for $3,300 — though they go as high as $100,000.

The Bismarck Sapphire Necklace is currently on display at the Smithsonian Institute. It's a 98-carat sapphire set with 312 diamonds and eight square sapphires.

Louis died in 1942.

According to the Smithsonian, the Hope Diamond, a 45-carat blue diamond, has been changing hands since the 1660s, from French royalty to a gem collector named Henry Philip Hope, from whom it got its name.

It came into Pierre's possession in 1909 after he bought it from a man named C.H. Rosenau.

Pierre successfully sold the diamond to Ned and Evalyn McLean in 1911, but the sale almost didn't go through since the Hope Diamond was thought to be cursed due to its long and bloody history, The New York Times reported.

They wanted to sell it back to Pierre and Cartier, but he refused.

The matter was settled, and Evalyn held on to the diamond until her death in 1947. Jeweler Harry Winston bought it two years later — after her relatives declined to keep it due to the curse — and he eventually donated it to the Smithsonian in 1958.

The Cartier Building is an iconic part of Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.

It was designated as a city landmark in 1970 and added to the National Register of Historic Places 13 years later, in 1983.

He ran the store until his death in 1941.

The first Cartier store in London opened in 1902, the same year as King Edward VII's coronation.

According to British Vogue, Edward had actually asked Cartier to open a branch ahead of his coronation so attendees didn't have to travel to Paris to secure their jewels.

Two years later, it received its first royal certificate from the king.

After that, Cartier became "the official purveyor of numerous royal courts" including the UK, Spain, and Russia, according to the brand.

As reported by Harper's Bazaar, this necklace is worth about $83 million and is the royal family's most expensive piece.

It consists of 50 diamonds set in platinum, and was given to Queen Elizabeth by one of the then-richest men in the world, Asaf Jah VII Nizam of Hyderabad, to celebrate her engagement to Prince Philip.

Kate Middleton has worn the necklace, as well.

Town & Country called the Tank watch her "signature" piece. It even made an appearance in season six of "The Crown."

It became a favorite after her divorce in 1996, when she ditched the Patek Philippe watch Princes Charles had given her.

Her favored golden Tank Française watch has remained in the family. William and Harry were each allowed to keep one of their mother's jewelry pieces after her death, Town & Country reported. The story goes that William picked the watch, while Harry chose his mother's sapphire engagement ring, but the two swapped when William planned to propose.

However, in his memoir, "Spare," Harry debunked the story, calling it "absolute rubbish," and said that his brother had asked for the ring years prior, and Harry had been "more than happy to let it go."

Still, his wife, Meghan Markle, has been spotted wearing a Tank Français that looks just like Diana's.

According to British Vogue, the Halo tiara was designed by Jacques and was purchased by Prince Albert — who would later become King George VI upon his brother's abdication — as a present for his wife in November 1936.

Queen Elizabeth II got the Halo tiara on her 18th birthday and lent it to Princess Margaret (her sister), Princess Anne (her daughter), and Kate Middleton on her wedding day (her granddaughter-in-law).

This reunification of the brand was led by Robert Hocq who, before his death in 1979, first took control of Cartier Paris, and later acquired Cartier London and Cartier New York, The New York Times reported.

Upon his death, his daughter Nathalie Hocq (pictured) became the president. She remained with the company until 1983, according to LinkedIn.

The Love bracelet, as British Vogue puts it, "heralded a new age of modernity in the way we wear jewelry."

Why? Because you need a special screwdriver to secure it on your wrist. It's a simple gold bangle with a screw design repeated over and over.

According to the publication, it's still one of the most Googled pieces of jewelry in the world, despite starting at $4,750.

Under the stewardship of CEO and president Cyrille Vigneron, the company has been more successful than ever. As Business Insider previously reported, Cartier is now the second-largest watchmaker in the world, behind only Rolex.

In 2020, Cartier was ranked 56th on a list of the world's most valuable brands by Forbes with its $12.2 billion valuation.

Vigneron personally signs off on every design, he told watch website Hodinkee. Despite all that money behind the brand, Vigneron still makes it feel like a small, family-run business.