Cartier

Cartier - María Félix Snake Necklace (1968)

“Never imitate, always innovate.” – Louis-François Cartier, Founder of Cartier.

Alfred Cartier(1841-1925) and his three sons left to right, Pierre (1878-1964), Louis (1876-1942), and Jacques(1884-1941)

Another dazzling, aspirational exhibition at the V&A for which the museum has become synonymous, and does so very well. On this occasion it is all about the Cartier brand and its development to become a leading jeweller of distinction. Founded in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier, the house quickly attracted the attention of high society and became known as 'the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers' with clients ranging from European royalty, heiresses, to Indian Maharajas. But it was not until Louis-François' grandsons, Louis, Pierre and Jacques – became involved that the label became a global concern, with stores established in major cities like Paris, London and New York in the early 1900s.The exhibition opens with the stunning Manchester Tiara of 1903 from the V&A's own collection spot lit, alone in a circular vitrine. Visitors are then led into the first room of the exhibition which takes as its theme the house's global vision. We see influences on Cartier products from Egypt, India, Japan and China when Egyptomania and all things "exotic" were highly fashionable. Many designs were influenced by books in Louis Cartier's personal library which included rare books on Islamic and eastern art and antiquities. The next room examines Cartier's connections with royalty with loans from His Majesty King Charles. Frederick Mew was an exceptional London Cartier designer, working on several high-profile commissions for royalty. Mew’s archive of around 5,000 designs entered the V&A’s permanent collection in 2009 and a few are on display such as the Williamson Diamond brooch, on loan from the Royal Collection. Commissioned from Cartier London by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the year of her coronation, the brooch features the rare 23.6 carat pink Williamson diamond that she had received as a wedding gift in 1947. I had passed by most of the objects admiring their obvious beauty and skilled craftsmanship but was stopped in my tracks in this section of the exhibition by the show-stopping ceremonial diamond necklace made in 1928 and restored in 1999-2002. This Patiala necklace was commissioned by Bhupinder Singh, Maharaja of Patiala, a key client and friend of Jacques Cartier, to reset his treasury of gemstones. This was among the largest commissions in Cartier’s history. The Patiala necklace disappeared after Indian Independence in 1947 and was only rediscovered years later, with the largest gems missing and since replaced. Cartier began a policy of buying back many of their own-designed pieces for their archive and this is just one of many examples showcased here. The next display of the exhibition features items bearing Cartier's iconic signature panther motif which first appeared in 1924. The panther collection is displayed in a special case featuring a stark white jungle background designed by artist Asif Khan MBE. Following on from this is a selection of Cartier's highly coloured Tutti-Frutti designs which incorporate vibrantly coloured stones such as sapphires, emeralds, diamonds and rubies all incorporated into individual pieces and were inspired by Jacques Cartier’s travels to India. Here the exhibition briefly touches on the human and environmental costs of procuring such natural gemstones as well as issues such as colonialism but goes on to state that in 2005 Cartier became a founding member of the Responsible Jewellery Council, which was established to develop ethical and sustainable standards in the jewellery supply chain. Next in a small space of its own is showcased Mexican actress María Félix’s amazing articulated snake necklace from 1968. This is another exceptional show-stopper created from an insane amount of diamonds (2,473 to be precise!) and on its underbelly the addition of coloured enamel scales to represent the Mexican flag. I just could not picture anybody wearing something so outrageously expensive and ostentatious. The next section features a selection of Cartier timepieces from elegant mystery clocks with hands that appear to float in mid-air as they move, the iconic Tank watch and the beautifully surreal warped "Crash" watch. The penultimate room features gems worn by stars of the silver screen who appear to have supplanted royalty in falling under the spell and cachet of Cartier. Films featuring actors and actresses sporting Cartier goods serves to showcase the aspirational appeal of the Cartier brand sadly out of reach to the majority of us mere mortals. There is then a further dramatic display by artist Asif Khan featuring a tiara and choker behind glass engulfed in a sea of mist. The exhibition then comes full circle, concluding dramatically with a room full of tiaras encased in glass pillars. As in all rooms of the exhibition the lighting is deliberately kept low, the better to showcase the dazzle and sparkle of the jewels which really do sing exquisitely in the gloom. This is an amazing blockbuster exhibition displaying the epitome of craftsmanship and design in jewellery. It is unlikely that many of the pieces will be exhibited together for a long time, indeed if ever. Cartier offers those of us who can only dream of owning, or are even content just seeing such items the opportunity to examine them and some of their original hand-drawn designs at first hand and marvel at their creation.

Cartier

until 16th November

Victoria & Albert Museum

Cromwell Road

London

SW7