In 1916, Cartier toured a beautiful, natural double-strand pearl necklace throughout Europe.

In 1916, Cartier toured a beautiful, natural double-strand pearl necklace throughout Europe. This necklace, valued at $1.2 million, eventually made its way to New York City.

This natural pearl necklace immediately caught the eye of upscale ladies of the time. Everyone visited 5th Avenue to view these beautiful pearls, including Maisie Plant, wife of Morton Plant, son of a railroad tycoon.

Maisie fell in love with pearls; however, her husband refused to pay the price.

Coincidentally, Maisie and Morton Plant planned to sell their mansion on 5th Avenue and 52nd Street in order to follow the socialites further uptown. Morton offered the mansion, along with an additional $100, to Cartier in exchange for the pearls. Cartier accepted and turned the mansion into what is now known as Cartier's New York City Headquarters.

In 1970, the mansion was designated an NYC landmark.

After Maisie's death in the 1950s, the pearl necklace was sold at auction for a mere $150,000.