Cartier and The King’s Foundation Highlight Decorative Arts in Watchmaking

PARIS — Cartier and The King’s Foundation, the educational charity founded in 1990 by now-King Charles III, are initiating a three-year partnership dedicated to rare artistry crafts involved in the decorative arts in watchmaking.

The postgraduate “The King’s Foundation and Cartier Decorative Métiers d’Art in Watchmaking” program will consist of five months of formal training and two months of project work. The focus will be on crafts including enameling techniques such as champlevé and grisaille, as well as marquetry.

It will take place between The King’s Foundation’s headquarters in Dumfries, Scotland, and Cartier’s Maison des Métiers d’Arts, founded in 2014 and located in the watchmaking epicenter of La-Chaux-de-Fonds.

Students will be mentored by expert tutors and master craftspeople from both organizations, and reside for the duration of their studies at The King’s Foundation at Dumfries House. This 18th-century stately home and expansive surrounding estate in Scotland was acquired in 2007 by the British monarch, who was then Prince Charles, to preserve them as treasures of the nation.

Applications will open on April 27 on The King’s Foundation’s website and the first cohort is expected to present its projects in spring 2027. Eligible for the fellowship are U.K.-based jewelry and watchmaking graduates as well as emerging designers in the first years of running their business wishing to add to their technical expertise.

Jacqueline Farrell, executive director of education at The King’s Foundation, said the organization was “passionate about protecting traditional crafts” and was “delighted to be partnering with Cartier — who shares this passion” on the new program, which she described as “a rare opportunity to learn the highly specialized skills involved in the decorative arts for watchmaking.”

“By nurturing the next generation of makers in two extraordinary settings in Scotland and Switzerland, we hope to ensure that these remarkable skills are preserved and developed for years to come,” she continued.

Louis Ferla, chief executive officer of Cartier, added that “support for creative talents in watchmaking and the métiers d’art is crucial to ensure these ancestral skills are transmitted to the next generation, where they can continue to share their singular beauty.”

He said that “this commitment reaffirms the maison’s long-standing dedication to the shared human adventure of preserving, developing and, of course, celebrating these rare and traditional crafts.”

Owned by Compagnie Financière Richemont, Cartier holds a Royal Warrant as “Jewellers and Watchmakers to His Majesty the King,” continuing its long-standing association with the British royal family.

In 1995, it introduced the annual Cartier Prize for Watchmaking Talents of Tomorrow competition, with the awards ceremony for its 28th edition to be held this spring.