# Cartier eyewear at Opticnet

Cartier eyewear is built at the house's own eyewear manufacture in Sucy-en-Brie near Paris, a site of around nine thousand square metres with roughly two hundred and fifty staff and some fifty distinct crafts on the production line: wax modelling, stamping, brazing, electroplating, lacquering and polishing. Since 2017 the collection has been developed and produced with Kering Eyewear, and Cartier was the first brand from outside the Kering group to join it. Materials run from gold-finished metal and titanium to acetate, wood and buffalo horn.

Cartier has been one of the world's great jewellers since Louis-Francois Cartier took over a Paris workshop in 1847. It brought that jeweller's eye to eyewear in 1983 with its first frames, made with real gold, platinum and buffalo horn, so a pair of Cartier glasses has always been closer to jewellery than to a simple accessory.

The house codes are easy to spot: the exposed screws of the Santos line, borrowed from the 1904 Santos watch, and the wood, horn and slim gold styles known as Buffs with their signature C on the temple. Those frames became a real status symbol in Detroit from the 1980s and have been worn and name checked across hip hop ever since.

Cartier eyewear is made in France, and every frame keeps the precision and finish the name is known for.

## Cartier collections we keep

- **Panthère de Cartier**: The panther sculpted along the temple, with the tip continuing the line of the tail. Mostly rimless optical frames here.
- **Santos de Cartier**: The exposed screws and the faceted hinge come from the Santos watch. Made both as sunglasses and as a titanium optical frame.
- **Première de Cartier**: The godron fluting and the C de Cartier, mostly sunglasses with a rimless metal front.
- **Signature C de Cartier**: The double C works as a structural element in the hinge, not only as decoration.
- **C de Cartier**: A cleaner, narrower oval line, metal with acetate temple tips.

## Typical price

The showroom price for the Cartier frames we keep sits around 5,600 ILS, and online it is around 4,480 ILS. Frame only, without lenses. The price varies by model and stock rotates.

## Choosing Cartier in 2026

When choosing Cartier, start with how much "jewellery" you want on your face. The Santos line, with exposed screws inspired by the 1904 watch, suits anyone who likes sharp metallic presence and a frame people recognise at a glance. The Buffs - wood, horn and slim gold with the C on the temple - sit softer and quieter, ideal if you want luxury that feels personal rather than loud.

What sets Cartier apart is the jeweller's feel: precise weight, gold or platinum finish, and materials such as buffalo horn that fashion frames rarely offer. Frames are made in France to jewellery-house standards, so try a few side by side - the difference between metal and horn is immediate on the nose and ears.

For 2026 yellow gold, rose gold and glossy black still lead, alongside classic horn styles making a strong return. If you are torn between bold status and quiet elegance, come to Kikar HaMedina and we will fit them with you - most Cartier frames can also take prescription lenses in our boutique.

## Questions about Cartier

### What is the difference between Panthère, Santos and Première?

They are three design languages from one house. Panthère takes Cartier's emblem animal and sculpts it along the temple. Santos brings the exposed screws and the faceted hinge of the Santos watch, so it reads as the most engineered of the three. Première works with the godron fluting and the C de Cartier, and most of its models are sunglasses with a rimless metal front. The quickest way to understand it is to try all three one after the other.

### How do you read a Cartier reference such as CT0271S?

CT is the brand prefix, the four digits are the model number, and the final letter marks the type: S for sunglasses, O for an optical frame. The number rises roughly with time, so 00-series references are long-running and 05-series ones are recent. The three digits after the reference are the colour code. Note that Cartier does not publish an official key to the letters, this is a reading of consistent usage.

### How do you look after a Cartier buffalo horn frame?

Horn is a natural material and it dries out. Cartier supplies a dedicated maintenance cream: apply it to the horn and work it in with a soft cloth roughly two to three times a year, depending on how often you wear the frame. Avoid prolonged heat, direct sun and soaking in water, and store it somewhere dry and shaded. For daily cleaning a dry microfibre cloth is enough.

### Does the gold finish on Cartier frames wear off?

The finish is durable, but what damages it is usually everyday contact: perfume, hairspray, creams and sweat left sitting on the metal. We suggest wiping the frame with microfibre at the end of the day, not resting it on hair straight after hairspray, and returning it to its case. That is our own workshop advice rather than an official Cartier instruction.

## Where to buy

Opticnet is an authorized dealer for Cartier. Visit the boutique at Hei Be'Iyar 58, Kikar HaMedina, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, call +972-3-546-6180, or message WhatsApp +972-58-546-6182.

Opening hours: Sun-Thu 10:30-18:00, Fri 10:00-13:00.