Compagnie Financière Richemont SA
A Swiss luxury goods holding company that owns some of the world's most famous jewelry and watch houses, including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Montblanc, and IWC. It was founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert, who spun off the international luxury assets of his father's Rembrandt Group. Fun fact: Cartier's Santos watch, now a Richemont icon, was designed in 1904 for Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont so he could check the time mid-flight.