This winter, a new chapter begins for Cartier in Amsterdam with the opening of the new boutique at the P.C. Hooftstraat 129. Studio Parisien carried the boutique’s design from the facade to the interiors, inspired and supported by Dutch local talents. 

Dutch Influences

 The boutique’s playful and welcoming ceramic façade designed by Amsterdam-based artist Eva Crebolder, is inspired by the perfect imperfections of the Amsterdam’s canal houses. All ceramic elements were produced in the world’s oldest operating tile factory (Koninklijke Tichelaar Makkum). Stepping inside, visitors encounter delicate touches such as Atelier Tollis columns in organic shapes. They have been sculpted and coloured as a re-interpretation of the bricks that define the city of Amsterdam. In the back, a colourful wall panelling pattern refers to De Stijl, influenced by Mondriaan and his use of primary colours. Sustainable French oak parquet shows a pattern based on those in Vermeer’s art. Upstairs in the salon, ceiling coves call to mind the spatula- centred painting techniques of Van Gogh. An airy staircase opens the path to a dreamy and light area located on the boutique’s first floor. Here, a masterpiece by Atelier Midavaine made of lacquer and mother of pearl punctuates the rise from the canals to the polder cloudy landscapes. On the upper level a courtyard garden can be found, designed by the architects of MAAK space from Amersfoort. The new Amsterdam boutique meets the highest ecological standards as directed by the globally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. 

Cartier in the Netherlands

The link between Cartier and the Netherlands dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. Cartier exhibited a number of important jewellery pieces in Hotel des Indes in The Hague in 1925. They were designs that had been included in the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris that year. The official history of Cartier in the Netherlands began when a boutique opened its doors on the Herengracht 442 in 1975, on the corner of Amsterdam’s Koningsplein, in premises that had housed a range of jewellers since the beginning of the last century. In 1994, Cartier moved from Koningsplein to the corner of the Hobbemastraat and P.C. Hooftstraat. Since that first boutique in 1994, two other premises were occupied on the same street in 2007, at numbers 132 and 134.