Cartier Love Bracelet Nightmare: Defective Product, Negligent Service, and a Shameful Experience

TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others

S

SinXWRX

New Member
Jan 15, 2025
4
3
#1
I’m sharing my story to warn others about my horrible experience with Cartier. What’s supposed to be a luxury brand has proven to be anything but—this is the worst customer experience I’ve ever had.

Timeline of Events:​

  • December 19: Purchased the Cartier Love Bracelet as a special gift for my wife for Christmas.
  • December 28: Despite promises to deliver before Christmas, the bracelet arrived late.
  • December 30: After wearing it for just 5-10 minutes, the hinge broke. Let me repeat: 5-10 minutes of wear!
  • December 31: I called and emailed Cartier immediately and shipped the bracelet back, taking detailed photos of the product before sending it.
  • January 14: Cartier denied my request for a refund, claiming “user error” and citing "extreme scratches."

Defective Bracelet: Clear Evidence​

I browsed multiple forums, including PurseForum.com, and saw numerous other cases where bracelets like mine were deemed defective due to hinge breaks. Here are the facts:

  • When a hinge breaks due to user error, the metal shows jagged edges, bending, or stress marks.
  • My bracelet shows a clean, smooth break, with no signs of misuse or forceful pulling.
This is consistent with manufacturing flaws, as other users have reported, where internal weaknesses in the metal caused clean breaks. Despite the overwhelming evidence, Cartier’s service team continues to blame me for their defective product.

Photos of Negligence​

Cartier sent me a photo of the bracelet, claiming it had "extreme scratches" when they received it. Thankfully, I had taken photos before shipping it to them, and my bracelet had no scratches at all.

  • Here’s the comparison:
    • Before Shipping (IMG_4607): Bracelet in pristine condition.
    • After Cartier Received It (IMG_9690): Mysterious scratches that were not there when I sent it.
This shows Cartier’s negligence in handling my product. Even worse, this isn’t an isolated case—I’ve seen countless complaints on BBB.org about similar incidents where Cartier blamed customers for damage they didn’t cause.

Service Team Incompetence​

Cartier’s service technician insisted the break was due to user error, even though:

  1. The hinge shows a clean and smooth break, typical of a defect, not misuse.
  2. My wife wore the bracelet for only 5 minutes, and it failed immediately.
How can a luxury product fail within minutes of wear? My wife owns jewelry from other high-end brands, and none of them have ever broken, let alone so quickly.

Their Patterns of Deception​

Cartier’s behavior is shameful:

  • Denying refunds by blaming customers for “user error” and claiming scratches that didn’t exist before.
  • Damaging returned products during their “inspection” process and refusing responsibility.
  • Dismissing legitimate complaints about defective products as user mishandling.
Their TrustPilot and BBB ratings are filled with similar stories of Cartier denying responsibility and refusing refunds. This is a clear pattern of deception and negligence.

Conclusion​

At this point, I want nothing to do with this product or this brand. I am demanding a full refund for this defective bracelet. I have wasted countless hours of my time dealing with this issue, time I could have spent on work or with my family.

For anyone considering a Cartier Love Bracelet—or anything from Cartier—don’t make the same mistake I did. This is not the quality or service you’d expect from a luxury brand. Their products fail, their customer service is negligent, and their refusal to take accountability is unacceptable.

If you’ve had a similar experience, please share your story. Brands like Cartier need to be held accountable for their actions, and their deceptive practices need to stop.IMG_4607.jpegIMG_9690 (1).jpgIMG_4604 (1).jpeg
 
  • Wow
  • Sad
  • Like
Reactions: Cali2HI, Nerja, Chanellover2015 and 15 others
#2
Did the screw side become loose and then the hinge part disconnected itself and the bracelet fell off? Or did the screw side become loose and the bracelet fell off and when it hit the ground the hinge side broke?
From the picture it looks like it was pulled apart so I am wondering if that is what Cartier is arguing (not saying they are right). I would definitely escalate the situation and speak to someone and explain exactly what happened.
Good luck!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chanellover2015, papertiger, rileygirl and 1 other person
#4
JOJA said:
Did the screw side become loose and then the hinge part disconnected itself and the bracelet fell off? Or did the screw side become loose and the bracelet fell off and when it hit the ground the hinge side broke?
From the picture it looks like it was pulled apart so I am wondering if that is what Cartier is arguing (not saying they are right). I would definitely escalate the situation and speak to someone and explain exactly what happened.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
The screw side stayed on but the hinge side came apart first, so after the hinge part came apart. I unscrewed the screw side to take the whole thing off.
 
#7
I recently purchased a supposedly new Tiffany Clock via eBay and PayPal. The seller's description and photos were rather deceptive, obscuring significant damage to the clock's case. Ebay stood behind their guarantee and I've received full credit on my PayPal-associated AMEX account. I hope you have a similarly happy resolution with your Cartier purchase.
 
#8
Oh wow!I am so sorry! I read on a forum about someone who returned their item due to a defect, but Cartier refused a refund, claiming it had scratches. Based on your photos, I can see there are no scratches, but the photo with gloves shows scratches, as if the piece had been dragged across a surface. Regardless, this is their new hinge version, so it’s possible it could be defective. I was considering getting one, but now I’m going to think twice. I hope you can work something out with PayPal or Cartier specially you have proof of pics. GL! Keep us posted about if there’s any updates please.
 
#9
MillStream said:
Did you pay with an American Express Card? If yes, contact AMEX immediately. They will do everything humanly possible to help you. Best customer service on the planet.
Click to expand...
💯

Didn’t know you could pay Cartier via PayPal, but then there should be two levels of protection (PayPal and the underlying cc)

Good luck with finding the best resolution!
 
#10
zaraha said:
Oh wow!I am so sorry! I read on a forum about someone who returned their item due to a defect, but Cartier refused a refund, claiming it had scratches. Based on your photos, I can see there are no scratches, but the photo with gloves shows scratches, as if the piece had been dragged across a surface. Regardless, this is their new hinge version, so it’s possible it could be defective. I was considering getting one, but now I’m going to think twice. I hope you can work something out with PayPal or Cartier specially you have proof of pics. GL! Keep us posted about if there’s any updates please.
Click to expand...

This is the small, not the new regular with hinge.
 
  • Like
Reactions: daisygrl, lill_canele and zaraha
#14
SinXWRX said:
The screw side stayed on but the hinge side came apart first, so after the hinge part came apart. I unscrewed the screw side to take the whole thing off.
Click to expand...
I’m sorry, I’m a little confused and would like to understand better.
Can you please describe in more detail how it broke in the first place?
After wearing it for 5-10 minutes, how did the hinge side come apart?
 
  • Like
Reactions: ilovemathLA
#15
Hi, sorry to hear about your experience.

From the photo you showed of "before", it looks like there is significant fingerprinting from handling and we can't actually tell the scratches in the other photo aren't there, because it doesn't show the entire bracelet. I also noticed that you came on here just to post this, and to make a similar post in another thread.

I have heard of bad experiences, but Cartier has no incentive to do what you're accusing them of doing. I've successfully returned things to them many times without running into this. The vast majority of people on here who have that bracelet love it and have no problems. I don't think their customer service itself is as luxurious as it used to be, but when it comes to standing by their products, my experience has been that when there is any sort of issue, they're quick to help.

Best of luck working it out.
 
  • Like
  • Insightful
Reactions: Nerja, luxurina, Loriad and 5 others
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top