Louis Devaux joined Cartier Paris straight out of the prestigious HEC business school and quickly became Louis Cartier's personal secretary. Astute, organized, and ambitious, his composed and rational manner proved invaluable when dealing with his sometimes irascible boss. He rose to become a director of the Paris branch, and it was Devaux who was instrumental in hiring Roger Chalopin, another sharp mind who would play an important role in the firm's future.
The war years
When war broke out in 1939, the thirty-two-year-old Devaux swapped his role heading up 13 Rue de la Paix for military service. Writing from the front in intense cold, he worried not just about dying but about what would happen to Cartier if he were killed. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre for being the first Frenchman to shoot down an enemy plane, but by 1940 he had been captured after his generals positioned his cannons on the top of a hill, apparently forgetting that a gun cannot shoot below the horizontal. The Germans had only to climb from below to seize them.
Pierre Cartier campaigned tirelessly for Devaux's release. It took more than two years. After being freed in September 1942, Devaux made it to Switzerland and cabled Cartier seeking safe passage into occupied Paris. It was Louis Cartier's widow, Jacqui, who helped, contacting a friend in Bern. A week later, Devaux was back at 13 Rue de la Paix.
Chairman of Cartier Paris
Louis Cartier had died while Devaux was still a prisoner. Pierre now asked Devaux to take on the role of company chairman. Beyond keeping the business running, Devaux was actively involved in the Gaullist resistance network, determined to prevent a German takeover of the firm. He estimated that Cartier's network of specialist workshops accounted for roughly a third of all jewellery craftsmen in France, making it essential to resist. Under his guidance, a new independent Cartier Monaco company was set up to protect stock from seizure.
"If we had not resisted, the House would have been dismembered and it would have been difficult to reconstruct it later."
Devaux's wartime standing extended well beyond the jewellery world. He was nominated over Francois Mitterrand for the presidency of the National Federation of Prisoners of War. For the rest of his life, Mitterrand, the future president of France, would refer to his friend Devaux as "mon president!"
He also helped Jean-Jacques Cartier on a personal level, making a dangerous wartime journey across France to help secure Jean-Jacques's marriage. The full story, including Jean-Jacques's own recollection, is in The Cartiers, ch. 9.
Cartier New York
After the war, Pierre persuaded the reluctant Devaux to move to New York and help run Cartier New York. The two had met with President Roosevelt during the war to discuss confidential information relating to Devaux's Resistance work, and Pierre considered him the best manager he knew. Devaux eventually accepted in 1947, though he was deeply conscious of stepping into Pierre's shoes. He later returned to Paris, but the years in America had shifted his outlook and he ultimately chose to leave the firm, a decision that caused Pierre considerable disappointment.
Sources
- Francesca Cartier Brickell, The Cartiers (Ballantine Books, 2019), pp. 318, 386-387, 420-425, 449-451
- Hans Nadelhoffer, Cartier: Jewelers Extraordinary (Thames and Hudson, 1984; revised 2007), p. 331.
- "Louis Devaux", L'Entreprise, no. 641, 23 December 1967, pp. 45-53 (via CNRS Lyon Patronat database)
