Trouble is, to clinch the sale, you’ve got to make the illusion look really good. However, if you could just make a piece appear in the store-as if by magic-you could save a lot of time, money, and (probably) carbon emissions. When you have to account for armored trucks, armed guards, store security, and the like, transporting such items around the world inevitably takes a lot of resources. As its wares are made with rare, expensive gems and metals, and are often one-off pieces, the company quite naturally can’t simply FedEx something from store to store, country to country, when a prospective client is interested. Clearly, Cartier has an interest in mimicking the presence of its very expensive products. In 2019, the company tested out an observation booth that rendered pieces of jewelry as rotating holograms. Despite the era of uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, Cartier is doubling down on getting butts into seats at its retail stores, with the bait being an augmented experience you simply cannot get from the comfort of your own sofa or study.Ĭartier has experimented with mixed reality before, of course. It is an in-person, in-store experience only. However, unlike all those others, Cartier’s AR endeavor is not accessible from the comfort of your phone. TAG Hauer tested AR watch demos more than a decade ago. Gucci released an AR feature for Snapchat that let people try on its shoes. No, Cartier has decided to try and create its own pimped virtual shopping experience.Ĭompanies including Ikea and Zenni Optical have AR modes that approximate how their digital products might look in the real world. That didn’t come up to scratch for the company. Not with your usual run-of-the-mill AR, mind. Now, Cartier is looking to reinvent augmented reality retail. For years now, brands like Gucci and Burberry have been at the vanguard of the luxury sector’s serious flirtation with ecommerce, investing in gaming among other things. Still, tech is in everything these days, and even non-techy fashion brands are eager to keep up with the times. Of course, Cartier’s product line is not one that requires yearly hardware or software updates. It’s good, after all, as Prince Harry will tell you, to have spares. King Edward VII referred to Cartier as “the jeweler of kings and the king of jewelers,” and for his coronation in 1902, he ordered no fewer than 27 tiaras from the company. It makes jewelry-often very expensive jewelry-and has a long history of sales to royalty. Cartier has carved out quite a niche in its 170-odd years in the luxury retail business.
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