An exhibition of more than 350 Cartier – Jewels, Watches and Objects – the first major showcase in the French house since the exhibition of the British Museum – is planned from 12 April to 16 November in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Rachel Garrahan, the co-curator of the exhibition, said that the idea was to tell Cartier’s story through the eyes of the museum and ‘Pay attention to Cartier London’. That branch was founded in 1902 after members of the Cartier family had decided that activities should exist in Paris, London and New York to grow the company.
“I don’t think everyone today understands how important Cartier London was for Cartier’s story,” said Mrs. Garrahan, occasionally a contribution to the New York Times. “People now consider it a French brand, but Cartier UK still exists today. There are incredible stories throughout history, as the Cartier has had a royal order since 1904. “
The exhibition is presented in the 1,100 square meters (11,840 square feet) Sainsbury Gallery, the largest space in the museum.
It opens with an introduction to the three Cartiers-Klein sons of the founder, Louis-François Cartier Die founded the branches. This part also explains how they wanted to create a distinctive style for the house. Highlights are the 1903 Manchester Tiara, a piece from the museum’s collection. It was commissioned by Consuelo, Hertogin van Manchester, an American who married in British nobility. And she supplied the more than a thousand brilliant cut diamonds and 400 pink diamonds that were used to make the piece.
The section also has a loan from the Royal Collection: The Williamson Diamond Broche, a Jonquil Flower Design with a 23.6-carat pink diamond, commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the year of her coronation. Also to be seen is a Rose Clip brooch from 1938 that was worn in the coronation by her sister, Princess Margaret.
The show “pulls a little apart what Cartier makes, Cartier,” said Mrs. Garrahan and noted that the often close relationship between customer and jeweler. “We look at how Cartier’s relationship with customers inspired certain designs.”
Another section investigates the craftsmanship of the house, with the complicated snake chain that it made in 1968 for the Mexican actress María Félix. Mrs. Garrahan said that the life -size fully articulated piece was proof of “how creative cartier was in solving design problems.”
You can see, including a Cartier Mystery Clock from 1914, made in Rockcrystal and Agate (the name was inspired by the characteristic design, so that the hours and miniscule hands seem to float). And there are various wrist watches from the 60s of Cartier London, including the surreal Cartier -Crash that continues to build Imitators.
A final part looks at how Cartier has evolved from making pieces for royalties to serving famous customers. “It is a whole chapter dedicated to how Cartier has taken a specific position in terms of communication,” wrote Pierre Rainero, the image, style and heritage director of the house, in an e-mail: “And how it evolved from the beginning of the 19th century to the present.”
Exhibitions include Grace Kelly’s 10.48-carat Diamanten engagement ring, which she wore in the film ‘High Society’ from 1956, the last film she made before her marriage to Prince Rainier III of Monaco. It is on loan of the Monaco Princely Palace Collection.
The link to celebrity – and the style of Cartier – can also be seen in a section dedicated to Tiara’s, including a Scroll -Tiara from 1902 worn by Clementine Churchill to Elizabeth’s Coronation and by Rihanna on the cover of W Magazine in 2016.
