The Legal Life Cycle of Luxury: How Rebranding Extends Protection for Cartier
- Cassie Cook
- Nov 20
- 3 min read
Introduction: The Paradox of a Perfect Product
After nearly 56 years of an iconic permanence, Cartier has reimagined its signature Love bracelet. The Love bracelet was redesigned not because it failed, but because it succeeded too well. Nearly everyone who wanted one already owned one. The redesign, Love Unlimited, is less a corrective measure than a strategic reboot of a
hero product at its maturity stage. This paradox, wherein a hero product becomes a growth constraint, is central to the lifecycle of luxury. Cartier’s reinvention offers a compelling case study in how brands can legally and strategically extend relevance, refresh protection, and reengage loyal customers.
Heritage: From Locking Love to Cultural Icon
The Love bracelet was designed in 1969 by Aldo Cipullo for Cartier New York and was inspired by chastity belts and medieval love locks as metaphors for devotion and permanence.[1] This gender-neutral gold bracelet, marked by its distinctive screw motif, redefined jewelry’s purpose—shifting it from a display of wealth and status to a symbol of personal expression.[2] Intended for daily wear rather than reserved occasions, it fastens with its own miniature screwdriver, embodying the era’s growing embrace of sexual freedom and effortless luxury.[3]
Over half a century later, the Love bracelet remains one of Cartier’s most profitable creations, accounting for roughly a third of its jewelry revenue.[4] But as marketing strategist Camille Moore explains, its success became its own constraint.[5] The customers who loved it most had already completed their collections—often owning two or three in different metals, stacked or shared with partners.[6] Sales stayed strong, but they came almost entirely from newcustomers rather than returning ones.[7] The Love bracelet had reached what Moore calls “product completion”: a point where consumer satisfaction is high, yet purchasing momentum stalls.[8]
The Strategy of Protecting While Evolving
In 2025, Cartier released the Love Unlimited, a reimagined version designed to spark renewal without erasing heritage.[9]Priced around $9,400, the Love Unlimited introduces a refreshed product hierarchy: the Classic Love remains the timeless original, while Unlimited bridges tradition and innovation.[10] This modular, flexible version invites existing customers to expand their collections while drawing in younger consumers who favor dynamic, customizable designs.
Cartier’s redesign does more than modernize aesthetics—it strategically extends intellectual property protection. Trade dress continuity relies on striking a balance between recognizable form and creative evolution—precisely what Cartier achieves by preserving its iconic screws and silhouette in Love Unlimited.[11] That careful balance between continuity and innovation enables Cartier to maintain its distinctiveness in the marketplace and reset enforceability clocks around its design.[12]
Conclusion
Cartier’s Love Unlimited shows that protecting a legacy brand isn’t about freezing it in time—it’s about evolving strategically. Every design refresh is also a legal refresh, giving Cartier new grounds for trademark and trade-dress protection while keeping the bracelet relevant to modern buyers. The Love line’s endurance proves that in fashion, creativity and law work hand-in-hand: one keeps the product beautiful, the other keeps it protected.
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