CARTIER
Artwork Labels & Didactics
Welcome to CARTIER
Created in partnership with the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, CARTIER features nearly four hundred exceptional jewels and timepieces created by Cartier in the last 125 or so years. The exhibition includes many significant heritage pieces lent by the Cartier Collection, along with important loans from public museums and private collections. It also features a large selection of design drawings, photographs, books and other printed materials from the Cartier Archives in Paris, London and New York. Together, these treasures demonstrate the unique qualities of Cartier creations, characterised by a union of inspired design, exceptional craftsmanship and technical innovation.
Studio Sabine Marcelis and CLOUD
The exhibition design has been conceived by artist and designer Sabine Marcelis, Principal of Studio Sabine Marcelis, and Paul Cournet, Director of multidisciplinary architecture studio CLOUD, both based in Rotterdam. Together they have developed a contemporary design that responds to the mesmerising qualities of Cartier’s jewels, celebrating light, colour and materiality.
Inviting complete immersion into the world of gemstones, the architectural language of the exhibition echoes the structure of Cartier’s creations. ‘We take the concept of a gemstone and expand it to create a distinct spatial volume in each room,’ Cournet says, allowing the stones to ‘inform both the form and the material character of each space’.
Colour and materiality are Marcelis’s focus. Just as gemstones transform and respond to light, the exhibition’s colour palette changes in each room, creating atmospheres that reference the jewels as well as the stories they tell. Leading into the exhibition, and again on its exit, installations created by Marcelis represent her artistic interpretation of a gemstone’s interaction with light. Establishing the tone of the exhibition, these immersive spaces are also signatures of Marcelis’s practice, which explores space, light and colour through the medium of glass.
Exhibition Sound
The NGV commissioned two award-winning Melbourne-based composers, Ai Yamamoto and Erkki Veltheim, to collaborate on original music for CARTIER.
Ai Yamamoto is a Japanese electronic artist whose practice foregrounds melody, texture and space. She collaborates with choreographers, filmmakers and artists including Hiroshi Sugimoto, Yumi Umiumare and Ben Frost. Finnish composer, performer and conductor Erkki Veltheim operates both inside and outside the music establishment. His practice spans gallery installation, violin performance, screen sound, and production of orchestral arrangements for artists including Gurrumul, Archie Roach and Bic Runga.
Responding to the exhibition design concept of Sabine Marcelis and CLOUD, the composers have created a highly spatialised, non-linear and immersive sound experience. Their compositions also feature live orchestral instrumentation recorded here in Melbourne.
Maison Cartier
Maison Cartier, the firm founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier, is one of the most renowned names in jewellery and watchmaking. This exhibition explores the story of Cartier as it developed from around 1900, when Louis-François’s three grandsons, Louis, Pierre and Jacques, took charge of running the family business. Under their leadership, Cartier became a global company, and its history is entwined with many of the most significant events and influential people of the twentieth century. Its exclusive client list led to Cartier being named ‘the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers’, likely by the Prince of Wales, Britain’s future King Edward VII.
‘Russian Style’
Cartier’s decision to create jewels, watches and precious objects in what was called the ‘Russian style’ was a strategic business move. Following the success of Russian jeweller Carl Fabergé at the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition and the popularity in Parisian high society of Fabergé’s luxury objects, the Cartier brothers saw an opportunity to increase their client base. The style, with roots in eighteenth-century French decorative arts, notably employed the techniques of hardstone carving and guilloché enamelling, in which coloured enamels applied to an engine-turned metal surface are then kiln-fired, becoming translucent to reveal the patterning beneath.
Cartier and Fabergé
Cartier initially used some of the same suppliers as Fabergé and actively targeted the same clients, including the Russian Imperial Family. Cartier opened its first boutique in London in 1902 while Fabergé established its first office there in 1903. They relocated to New Bond Street in 1909 and 1911, respectively. As competitors, they worked with similar techniques, although Cartier favoured less vivid tones, pursuing a pastel colour palette and using materials, such as rose quartz, not used by Fabergé.
A World of Inspiration
Paris at the turn of the twentieth century was a cosmopolitan centre for art and design from all over the globe. All things ‘oriental’ and ‘exotic’ were in vogue, with the traditions of ancient Egypt, India, Japan, China, Iran and the Islamic world offering new possibilities for form and colour.
For inspiration, Cartier designers were encouraged to study books on the decorative arts and architecture of these cultures, which Louis and Jacques Cartier made available to them. The Maison also acquired ancient fragments, or pieces from disassembled jewellery or other items, creating a resource for the designers to use as reference material or to incorporate into new designs. Called apprêts by Cartier, such artefacts were often collected from antiques dealers, several of which were located near Cartier on the rue de la Paix in Paris.
The Cartier brothers nurtured close relationships with an elite, taste-making clientele. As well as producing pieces for stock, where they could experiment with daring new ideas, Cartier designed bespoke commissions that reflected the Maison’s clients’ individual interests, culture and personality. These collaborations between client and jeweller led to some of the most magnificent pieces ever created by Cartier.
Egypt
Following the discovery of pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, Egyptomania fired the European imagination with renewed force. Cartier designers distinguished the Maison’s ancient Egyptian–themed creations by their close study of books as well as of antiquities on display at the nearby Louvre Museum. Cartier reinterpreted ancient Egypt’s distinctive colour combinations and motifs in some of the Maison’s most splendid Art Deco creations.
Egypt
Cartier frequently incorporated ancient fragments into its creations. Jewels and objects inspired by ancient Egypt often included faience, a type of glazed composition used extensively in ancient Egyptian jewellery, personal objects and inlaid decoration. Cartier called such artefacts apprêts and used this term generally for the Maison’s stock of disassembled jewellery and other fragments originating from Persia, India, China and Japan, as well as ancient Egypt.
India
Part of the British Empire from 1858 to 1947, India became an enduring source of inspiration for Cartier. Alexandra, Queen consort of Britain’s King Edward VII (and also, therefore, Empress of India from 1901 to 1910), ordered an ‘Indian chain’ in 1901, one of the Maison’s first Indian-inspired creations. In 1911 Jacques Cartier attended the Delhi Durbar, a spectacular ceremony marking the succession of King George V and Queen Mary as Emperor and Empress of India. While there, he established important relationships with Indian rulers and with local dealers of carved gems and antiques.
India
Indian Royalty
Many Indian rulers brought some of their treasuries of precious gemstones and jewellery to Paris and London in the 1920s and 1930s to have them set and reset in the latest European fashions. They also acquired a wide range of luxury goods with which to express their status, sophisticated taste and royal splendour. This lifestyle came to an end with Indian independence in 1947, when the maharajas ceded their territories to the modern states of Pakistan and India.
Indian Royalty
Maharaja Sir Bhupindra Singh’s commission to reset the Patiala royal treasury of gemstones was among the largest in Cartier’s history. It included this ceremonial necklace and choker, mounted in platinum rather than in the Indian tradition of yellow gold. These jewels disappeared after Indian independence in 1947 and were only rediscovered years later, their largest gems missing. These have since been replaced with topazes, quartz, a citrine and other stones, including zirconias and synthetic rubies.
Japan
Japan’s artistic traditions became fashionable in Europe after the country opened its borders to foreigners in the mid nineteenth century. Cartier interpreted these traditions to beguiling effect. The Maison incorporated obi knots and katagami designs (the stencils used for dyeing textiles) into diamond brooches, and adorned its creations with Japanese flora and fauna.
Japan
Although none of the three Cartier brothers travelled to Japan, they were – like so many artists and designers – immersed in Japanese aesthetics through the objects and woodblock prints that flooded Paris in the late nineteenth century. Museums, galleries, boutiques, libraries and the International Exhibitions provided many opportunities for Louis Cartier and his design collaborators, such as Charles Jacqueau (who joined Cartier Paris in 1909), to take inspiration from Japanese art.
China
Cartier designs incorporated Chinese apprêts such as lacquer plaques and carved jade, and combined them with onyx, rubies and coral. The Maison also reinterpreted Chinese motifs, including mythical creatures like the dragon and phoenix, fretwork patterns, and symbols of longevity and good fortune, and paid homage to Chinese forms of adornment with tasselled pendants and jade belts.
China
Beginning in the late nineteenth century, Europe experienced an influx of art treasures from China, revitalising the European fashion for all things Chinese. The precious objects displayed here demonstrate how Cartier created Chinese-inspired pieces in a variety of ways.
Iran
Cartier designers drew on Louis’s personal collection of art from Iran (formerly known as Persia), incorporating Persian motifs such as cypress trees, panthers, deer and lobed cartouches from carpet designs and bookbindings.
Iran
Iran and Mughal India shared many historical and cultural links, and the line was sometimes blurred in Cartier creations in terms of precisely where the inspiration originated.
The Islamic World
The Islamic world, encompassing Spain and Egypt through the Middle East to India, was another rich source of inspiration for Louis Cartier. He owned several Islamic art books, some personally annotated, which were on hand for Cartier’s designers to study.
The Islamic World
Abstract geometric shapes, particularly triangles and stars, as well as scrolls, lobes and arches, were all part of the visual culture of the Islamic world. Early pieces inspired by mosques and Islamic metalwork were developed alongside jewels in the Garland Style, sharing a whiteness, delicacy and finesse.
The Cartier Style
Maison Cartier combined the art of global traditions with lively imagination as part of a broader design approach. Just as neighbouring cultures often inspired one another’s artistic output in the past, Cartier in turn explored and reinterpreted aesthetics from around the world to create its own inimitable yet modern style. The Maison’s strikingly bold and modern designs came to international prominence at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, held in Paris in 1925. This exhibition, which made Art Deco a global sensation, was the culmination of years of experimentation and design innovation for Cartier.
Underpinning its creative success was Cartier’s design approach, which constantly pushes the boundaries of creativity and continues to find expression in Cartier creations today. Hard to define but instantly recognisable, Cartier pieces combine recurrent design motifs, a purity of line, bold colour combinations and a harmony of space and volume with exceptionally high-quality materials and craftsmanship.
Blue and Green
A notable favourite of Cartier’s designers, the combination of blue and green was introduced from around 1910 onwards. Particular inspiration came from Persian art and architecture, as documented in Louis Cartier’s library and personal collection. Also significant were Léon Bakst’s sensational costumes and set designs for the Ballets Russes’s groundbreaking 1909 production Scheherazade, which had a deep impact on both Louis and the designer Charles Jacqueau. During the 1920s and 1930s Cartier experimented with combinations of different stones, including sapphires and emeralds, jade and sapphires, and lapis lazuli and turquoise.
Red and Green
Red and green was another innovative colour combination that became particularly popular during the 1920s. With its carved emeralds, rubies and spinels, the historical jewellery of India was a major source of inspiration, while coral also became highly fashionable with Cartier’s designers, who often paired it with emeralds or jade. While coral had been used for millennia in body adornment, it became extremely popular during the nineteenth century and began to appear with increasing frequency during the early twentieth century in daytime jewellery. Another Cartier innovation, the combination of coral with green and black gems such as emeralds, malachite, jade and onyx resulted in renewed interest in coral jewellery throughout the 1920s.
Black and White
While onyx and diamonds were previously mostly associated with mourning jewels, in one of his ideas notebooks from 1910, Louis Cartier suggests using the combination in daywear jewellery. Striking black and white jewels for daywear were among Cartier’s important contributions to the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts. By 1930, however, this combination had become the epitome of evening glamour. In 1935 the social critic Chips Channon described a young woman who was ‘already out and is chic and sleek and onyx-y’.
Black, White and Blue
Although not a combination of colours exclusive to Cartier, sapphire and rock crystal paired with black lacquer, onyx or enamel was another of Cartier’s highly fashionable colour combinations during the Art Deco period.
Black, White and Red
Cartier’s combination of black, white and red was highly fashionable during the 1920s, and was used in the Maison’s jewellery, vanity cases and make-up accessories. The combination may have been inspired by the arts of China and Japan, with coral or rubies used for the red elements, pearls sometimes substituted for diamonds, and onyx, enamel or lacquer employed for the black elements.
Black, White and Green
Black, white and green was another striking colour combination that Cartier pioneered. Comprising emeralds, diamonds and onyx or enamel, the combination was introduced during the 1910s and became particularly fashionable during the 1920s. However, by the late 1920s the trend had returned once again to the pairing of emeralds and diamonds alone.
Cross-Cultural Motifs
Certain motifs are the result of historical cross-cultural exchange. A Chinese hinge, for example, might recall South-East Asian and Middle Eastern metalwork. The ancient Iranian boteh (teardrop-shaped design) is also found in Indian Mughal art and was exported to Europe. Scrolling hooks resemble the Chinese ruyi pattern, but also Middle Eastern and Indian ornament. These motifs and others have been developed into more stylised elements that have become recognisable parts of the broader Cartier design lexicon.
Tutti Frutti
Tutti Frutti
An Obsession with Stones
The Cartier brothers set out to source the world’s finest gems, and established the firm’s reputation for cutting and mounting new or historically significant gemstones in the Cartier style. Jacques, the gem expert, travelled to the Middle East, India and Sri Lanka in search of stones and local connections. Important gems were also supplied directly via a strong trade network and wealthy clientele, and Pierre in particular was known for acquiring historically significant gems such as the Hope diamond.
Historically, in some parts of the world, the extraction and trade of raw materials – notably, diamonds, rubies and jade – has been a fraught industry, with colonialist practices and complex issues around transparency in traceability. In other countries, such as Sri Lanka, where sapphire mining has long followed sustainable practices and supported local communities, it has also had a positive impact. Today the global landscape continues to evolve. In 2005 Maison Cartier became a founding member of the Responsible Jewellery Council, established to develop ethical and sustainable standards. It collaborates with industry and business partners to promote best practices, traceability and transparency across the full supply chain.
The Toussaint Taste
The Toussaint Taste
The Toussaint Taste
The Toussaint Taste
Cartier’s Panther: Evolution of a Motif
Now intrinsically associated with Cartier, the panther has been part of the Maison’s iconography since 1914, when it appeared in its earliest inception as a wristwatch with onyx spots evoking a panther’s patterned fur. Within the Maison’s design lexicon, the term ‘panther’ refers to both the leopard with its distinctive rosette markings (Panthera pardus), and to the dark-coloured variants of the leopard and the jaguar (Panthera onca).
Representing strength and elegance in equal measure, the wild cat has been reimagined by Cartier in innumerable ways, from depictions of its patterned fur to figurative portrayals of the creature at rest and play. In this section of the exhibition, a selection of panther jewels, from the earliest to some of the most recent, are displayed in a context that focuses on the design and creation process. The savoir faire, or ‘know-how’, that goes into the Maison’s creations is illuminated through this most distinctive Cartier motif.
The Panther
Cartier’s panther is as enduring as its appeal to the women who have seen something of themselves in this alluring wild cat. Created between 1914 and 1989, several of the jewels in this case represent the panther-skin motif in abstract form, while others model the wild cat with varying degrees of naturalism. All illustrate the longstanding continuity of this motif within the Cartier design lexicon.
The Panther
The Panther
Although platinum and onyx are the materials in which the Cartier panther was first created, the jewels in this case show the evolution of the motif in more recent decades. The aesthetics of the 1990s generated a new form of the wild cat, with sleek golden ‘fur’ and geometric lacquer markings. The ring, necklace and bracelet at the centre of this case each represent Cartier’s revival of the ancient art of glyptics, or hardstone carving.
Technical Ingenuity: Timepieces
At Cartier, imaginative design and technical engineering have always been part of the same process. The Maison’s workshops are laboratories for experimentation and innovation, for both Cartier’s own creations and for audacious commissions embodying the personalities of its exacting clients. Whether through its visually alluring Mystery clocks – first created in 1912 and continuing to be made today – or its experimentation with the form of the wristwatch, Cartier has always put technical invention at the service of aesthetics.
Equal parts jeweller and watchmaker, Cartier elevated timepieces from functional items to elegant objects of desire. The history of timepieces at Cartier emerged from collaborations with talented clock and watchmakers including Maurice Coüet and Edmond Jaeger. They developed new mechanical forms that freed the Maison’s creative imagination and allowed it to experiment with shape and design.
Early Innovations
Louis Cartier’s imagination for timepieces was propelled by a collaboration with the French watchmaker Edmond Jaeger. Jaeger’s ultra-thin watch movements allowed the Maison to focus on shape and essential line in the case design. The Santos wristwatch is regarded as the first purpose-built watch in that it was designed with lugs – the elements to which the leather strap is attached – fully integrated within the case. Early wristwatch designs show efforts to smooth the edges of the square case in the Santos and Tank models, and to depart from it with the introduction of considered curves in the Tonneau and Tortue designs.
The Tank and its Variations
Created in 1917, the Tank is one of Cartier’s most instantly recognisable timepieces. The name was inspired by the armoured military vehicle developed by the British and first deployed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The watch’s shape recalls the combat tank’s body, which is bound by parallel caterpillar tracks instead of separate wheels. Cartier’s Tank echoes that silhouette, being a simple square dial within two brancards (parallel metal bars – sometimes set with diamonds – that integrate the lugs), allowing seamless connection to the strap. The resulting design has been ripe for reimagination ever since.
Cartier London in the Swinging Sixties
The creative freedom of 1960s London inspired some of the Maison’s most distinctive timepieces. Under the leadership of watch enthusiast Jean-Jacques Cartier, the designers at Cartier London continued to experiment with shape and form, including ways of strapping watches to the wrist and exaggerating proportions. The Maison’s most famous creation from this period, the Crash wristwatch, stretches and distorts an oval dial, displaying a playfulness and disregard for convention, balanced by the discipline of the Cartier style.
New Models Since 1977
In the late 1970s, when Cartier was once again a global company under single ownership, the Maison renewed its dedication to timepieces. Cartier adopted a consistent approach to wristwatches as the creative expression of technical ingenuity combined with aesthetic rigour and luxury finesse.
When a Watch is a Jewel
While all of Cartier’s timepieces balance the microengineering practicalities of watchmaking with precious gems and decoration, some declare their status as jewels more overtly. This selection of watches showcases Cartier’s great skill in bringing jewellery styles, such as the Garland Style, to the wristwatch, and exploring different forms for timepieces, including rings, brooches and bracelets.
In the years following World War Two, the return of platinum to the jeweller’s bench led to new innovations with diamond timepieces, while the continued popularity of gold jewellery – encouraged under Jeanne Toussaint’s creative direction – also allowed for a rich seam of innovation using colourful gemstones and hybrid forms. In recent years, Cartier’s specialist watchmaking ateliers in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland have led innovations in exciting contemporary directions.
Cartier and Film
In the 1920s and 1930s, the rapidly growing motion picture industry provided a far-reaching platform for Cartier to spread its reputation, throughout the United States and beyond. Rudolph Valentino became the first actor to wear a piece by Cartier on-screen, in the 1926 silent film The Son of the Sheikh. As movie stars replaced high society as the tastemakers of the day, Cartier jewels and watches became symbols of individuality, refinement and glamour.
In the golden age of Hollywood, film stars served as Cartier’s best ambassadors, wearing their personal jewels in publicity stills and on camera, as well as in their private lives. Several prominent actors were important Cartier clients, including Oscar-winning actresses Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor.
In addition to such starring roles, today Cartier is also active behind the scenes. In recent years, the Maison has collaborated with filmmakers on special projects in which a Cartier jewel is a necessary part of the film’s narrative by making a replica or even creating a new design. In exceptional cases, original creations from the heritage Cartier Collection have been made available to be worn on-screen.
A Philosophy of Design: Constant Reinvention
The late 1960s and early 1970s was a time of considerable change, both in the world at large and within Cartier’s global business structure. Jacques and Louis Cartier had died in 1941 and 1942, respectively, while Pierre retired in 1947. The next generation of the Cartier family oversaw the individual sale of each of the three branches of the business in the 1960s and 1970s. By 1976, a group of investors had acquired all three branches, making Cartier an international entity once again.
Throughout Maison Cartier’s history, the central pillars of its design language, including clean lines, innovative colour combinations and sculptural volume, have provided a framework in which universal curiosity inspires new design directions. Louis Cartier established the creative foundations for this stylistic approach that is able to evolve yet still remain relevant over time. Jeanne Toussaint continued this evolution from the 1930s to the 1960s. In 1973, in New York, an Italian American designer named Aldo Cipullo contributed his own unique approach, transforming Cartier’s legacy once more. Today, Cartier’s designers continue to be inspired by these foundational principles in their quest for contemporary expression.
Contemporary Innovation
One of the great successes in Cartier creations is an ability to embody an elegance and simplicity of design. This approach can be seen in jewels from as early as the beginning of the twentieth century to contemporary creations. Hard to define but instantly recognisable, the Cartier style combines recurring design approaches, purity of line, bold colour combinations and harmony of space and volume, along with exceptionally high-quality materials and craftsmanship. It is an approach that constantly pushes the boundaries of creativity.
Contemporary Innovation
Tiaras: Pinnacle of the Jeweller’s Art
Tiaras have long been the ultimate symbol of status and style. With symbolic links to celestial halos and laurel wreaths of classical antiquity, the tiara occupies a position at the very apex in the hierarchy of jewellery forms. Tiaras have been worn for centuries and, being located on the wearer’s head, are charged with the most potent symbolism, associated with royal crowns and their nearness to the divine. The tiara also represents the highest expression of a jeweller’s creative imagination and technical skill.
Maison Cartier became a master of tiaras at a time when members of high society wore them to the most glittering events in the social calendar. Long associated with marriage, tiaras, particularly during the early decades of the twentieth century, were considered an essential element of a lady’s jewellery ensemble when attending a royal or aristocratic wedding. Demand for these head ornaments persisted longest in London, where they were a requirement of Royal Court dress. In 1937, the year of King George VI’s coronation, Cartier London made more tiaras than in any year before or since. Today, while few occasions demand a tiara, they remain the pinnacle of Maison Cartier’s glamour, romance and artistry.