PositiveThe Wall Street Journal... the author lovingly describes the intricacy and craftsmanship of Cartier’s mystery clocks ... Oddly, the letters on which Ms. Cartier Brickell based her research are seldom quoted. When there’s a snippet of one, for instance, from Jacques’s wife, Nelly, to her children, it’s the best insight we get into her character. More such voices, and less detail of the myriad business intricacies, would have been welcome ... But if The Cartiers is too long, it’s for a very understandable reason: Ms. Cartier Brickell promised her beloved grandfather shortly before he died that she would tell their family’s story. Doing justice to four generations of jewelers through Napoleon III, two world wars and endless social and financial upheaval is a weighty task. Her writing could use a little more sparkle—people hardly ever seem to work other than tirelessly or die other than tragically. Her perfectionist ancestors might have sent the manuscript back for a little tinkering. But Ms. Cartier Brickell has done her grandfather proud.
