Cartier exhibition bedazzle crowds in London
LONDON
A spellbinding exhibition of Cartier jewels, many never seen before in public, is opening in London tracing the history of the luxury French design house beloved by the rich and famous, from Queen Elizabeth II to Rihanna.
For the first time in three decades, the V&A museum is showing a retrospective of some of Cartier's most iconic creations.
Founded in Paris almost 180 years ago, the company has pioneered and modernized the luxury jewelry market.
"We all think of Cartier as being this wonderful design epic and glamorous name, but it's also because they are so good at creating something that is ahead of the times, but doesn't go out of fashion," said curator Helen Molesworth.
The exhibition opened on April 12 and is already sold out for April and May but visitors have until Nov.16 to marvel at some 350 brooches, tiaras, necklaces and earrings festooned with diamonds, pearls and stunning jewels of all the colors of the rainbow.
The exhibition's curators have brought together rare pieces from museums around the world, including from private collections such as items belonging to King Charles III and Monaco's Prince Albert.
One of the masterpieces on display is the breathtaking Williamson pink diamond rose brooch, made for Queen Elizabeth in 1953, the year of her coronation.
It contains a 23-carat pink diamond, one of the rarest, most flawless in the world, presented to the queen as a gift on her wedding to Prince Philip.
Nearby is a tiara from 1902 set with 1,048 diamonds worn to the queen's coronation by Clementine Churchill, the wife of the then prime minister Winston Churchill.
It was lent to singer Rihanna when she was photographed for the cover of W magazine in 2016.
In one room, the curators have gathered a collection of 18 tiaras spanning from 1900 to the modern day — a grand finale to the dazzling display.
The design house was founded in Paris in 1847 when Louis-Francois Cartier took over the workshop of his master.
In 1898, his grandson Louis Cartier joined the brand, and was to play a pivotal role in Cartier's evolution. And then in 1902, his brother Pierre, opened a branch in London.
"We see very early on, even in the beginning of the 1900s, that Cartier is really looking around for inspiration," said Molesworth.
"We see inspirations from the Islamic world, from Egypt, from China, from India. The brothers traveled. They went to Russia, they went to India," she added.
