An exhibition of more than 350 Cartier jewels, watches and objects — the first major showcase on the French house since the British Museum’s 1997 exhibition — is scheduled from April 12 to Nov. 16 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Rachel Garrahan, the exhibition’s co-curator, said the idea was to tell the story of Cartier through the eyes of the museum and to “pay heed to Cartier London.” That branch was established in 1902 after members of the Cartier family decided operations should exist in Paris, London and New York to grow the business.
“I don’t think everybody understands today how important Cartier London was to the story of Cartier,” said Ms. Garrahan, an occasional contributor to The New York Times. “People today think of it as a French brand, but Cartier U.K. still exists today. There are incredible stories throughout its history, like that Cartier has had a royal warrant since 1904.”
The exhibition is being presented in the 1,100-square-meter (11,840-square-foot) Sainsbury Gallery, the museum’s largest space.
It opens with an introduction to the three Cartiers — grandsons of the founder, Louis-François Cartier — who established the branches. This section also explains how they sought to create a distinctive style for the house. Highlights include the 1903 Manchester tiara, a piece from the museum’s collection. It was commissioned by Consuelo, the Dowager Duchess of Manchester, an American who married into British nobility. And she supplied the more than a thousand brilliant-cut diamonds and 400 rose-cut diamonds used to create the piece.
The section also features a loan from the Royal Collection: the Williamson Diamond brooch, a jonquil flower design with a 23.6-carat pink diamond that was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the year of her coronation. Also on display is a 1938 rose clip brooch that was worn at the coronation by her sister, Princess Margaret.
The show “sort of pulls apart what makes Cartier, Cartier,” Ms. Garrahan said, noting the often close relationship between customer and jeweler. “We look at how Cartier’s relationship with clients inspired particular designs.”
Another section examines the house’s craftsmanship, featuring the intricate snake necklace it created in 1968 for the Mexican actress María Félix. Ms. Garrahan said that the life-size fully articulated piece was evidence of “how creative Cartier was in solving design problems.”
Timepieces are on show, including a 1914 Cartier Mystery Clock, crafted in rock crystal and agate (the name was inspired by the signature design, which makes the hour and minute hands appear to be floating). And there are several 1960s wristwatches by Cartier London, including the surrealist Cartier Crash that continues to spawn imitators.
A final section looks at how Cartier has evolved from creating pieces for royalty to serving celebrity clients. “It’s an entire chapter dedicated to how Cartier adopted a specific position in terms of communications,” Pierre Rainero, the house’s image, style and heritage director, wrote in an email, “and how it evolved from the beginning of the 19th century until now.”
Exhibits include Grace Kelly’s 10.48-carat diamond engagement ring, which she wore in the 1956 film “High Society,” the last movie she made before her marriage to Prince Rainier III of Monaco. It is on loan from the Monaco Princely Palace Collection.
The link to celebrity — and Cartier’s style — can also be seen in a section dedicated to tiaras, including a 1902 scroll tiara worn by Clementine Churchill to Elizabeth’s coronation and by Rihanna on the cover of W magazine in 2016.
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