VITRINE 18
The 1930s were marked by the role played by Jeanne Toussaint, who is appointed Cartier Creative Director in 1933 (a position she held until 1970). Toussaint was a peerless visionary who was able to cater to the leading women of her time thanks to her genius and sensitivity. She promoted the symbolic force of the panther, employed yellow gold, and developed jewelry with volume and three-dimensionality; all elements that women adopted. Her style contributed to creating a new taste, transforming jewels into emblems of fashion. Haute couture also served her as a source of inspiration for designing jewels with great fluidity, adapted to the movements of the wearer.
Necklace and bracelet
Cartier London, special order, 1936
Platinum, diamonds, peridots
This set was made to order, using the client’s peridots. The yellow-green peridot, also called olivine or chrysolite, is closely associated with diamonds because it is found in kimberlite, the igneous rock that carries diamonds to the surface of the earth. Peridot was Edward VII’s favorite stone.
Provenance:
Mrs. A. Chester Beatty
Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875 –1968) was an American mining engineer who had been a keen art collector since his childhood. His interests ranged from minerals, Chinese snuff bottles to Japanese and Chinese paintings and calligraphy as well as European
and Persian manuscripts. In his later life, he moved to Ireland where he constructed a library that was to contain his life’s collection. The library opened in 1954 and still exists today.
Tiara
Cartier London, 1937
Gold, platinum, diamonds, citrines
The central motif can be detached from the tiara and worn as a brooch, pointing downward.
Orchid brooch
Cartier Paris, special order, 1937
White gold, amethysts, aquamarines, enamel
Bangle
Cartier Paris, special order, 1934
Platinum, diamonds
This bracelet was executed as a special order in 1934. The client supplied almost all of the stones. Originally diamonds adorned the four lateral motifs.
Brooch
Cartier London, special order, circa 1933
Platinum, diamonds, sapphires, amethysts
Provenance:
Jacques Cartier family
Based on an idea by Jacques Cartier himself, the stones in this brooch have specific symbolic associations to the family: the amethyst represents the mother (Nelly Harjes, Jacques Cartier’s wife), the four square motifs symbolize the couple’s four children, and the calibré-cut sapphire borders represent the father (the sapphire represents Jacques’ birthstone).
Ring
Cartier New York, 1935
Platinum, diamonds, sapphires
Pyramid clip brooch
Cartier New York, 1936
Platinum, diamonds, sapphire
Bracelet
Cartier Paris, 1930
Platinum, diamonds, rock crystal
Provenance:
Gloria Swanson
The star (1899-1983) was then at the height of her fame, following her success in the early “talkies” (with movies such as “What a Widow!” and “Indiscreet”), and had just married Michael Farmer, the third of her six husbands. Not only does this flexible and dazzling bracelet figure in the history of jewelry, it also plays a role in the history of cinema, since Swanson wore it in at least two films: “Perfect Understanding” (1932) and “Sunset Boulevard” (1950).
VITRINE 19
Bracelet
Cartier Paris, 1936
Gold, lapis lazuli
Necklace
Cartier Paris, 1937
Gold, citrines
The five motives on the necklace can be detached to be worn as brooches.
Bracelet
Cartier London, 1936
Gold, citrines
Boule ring
Cartier Paris, 1964
Gold, platinum, diamonds, rubies
This model was created by Cartier Paris in 1935. Since then it has become a classic.
Ring
Cartier Paris, 1946
Gold, platinum, diamonds, rubies
VITRINE 20
Necklace
Cartier Paris, 1953
Gold, amethysts, turquoise
Provenance:
Mrs. Daisy Fellowes
Daughter of the Duc Decazes and Isabelle Singer (heiress to the Singer sewing machine fortune), Daisy Fellowes (1890–1962) was often named “the world’s most elegant woman” by magazines of the 1920s and 30s. It is also true to say that this Parisian socialite boasted two qualities without which elegance tends to be overlooked: taste and audacity. These qualities earned her a firm reputation as a leader of fashion, especially when she became Paris correspondent, from 1933 to 1935, for the influential Harper’s Bazaar.
Bracelet
Cartier Paris, 1954
Yellow gold, pink gold, platinum, diamonds, amethysts, turquoise
The star motif was originally a clip brooch created for the stock in 1951. It was transformed into the clasp of this bracelet in 1954.
Provenance:
the Duchess of Windsor
Born in Baltimore, Wallis Warfield (1896–1986) first married Earl Winfield Spencer, followed by a rich American businessman, Ernest Simpson. Then, in 1934, she met the Prince of Wales. Their affair caused a scandal in Great Britain, and following his accession to the throne in 1936 and Wallis’s second divorce, Edward VIII was forced to abdicate in December so that he could marry her. In March 1937, the new king, George VI, named his brother Duke of Windsor. The couple was married in France in June and moved to Paris where they lived for the rest of their lives. From the late 1930s onward, the duchess was a great fan of Cartier. Many of her jewels were made in collaboration with Jeanne Toussaint.
Necklace
Cartier, 2003
Pink gold, diamonds, amethysts, turquoise
Ring
Cartier, 2004
Pink gold, diamonds, amethysts, turquoise
VITRINE 21
Egg vanity case
Cartier Paris, 1958
Gold, platinum, diamonds
The center applied with initial L. Interior with a powder compartment with Plexiglas® cover, a cigarette compartment with gold openwork retaining clip and a mirrored cover.
Provenance:
Lady Deterding
In 1924, Lydia Kudoyarova of Russian origin, married her second husband, the powerful Dutch businessman Sir Henry Deterding, who played a key role in the merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum with Shell Transports and Trading in 1907. The marriage was to last twelve years. Lady Deterding (1904–1980) was an important jewelry collector. Shortly after her death in 1980, Christie’s Geneva sold part of her fabulous collection at auction. This included a historically significant pearl-and-diamond pendant that had belonged to Empress María Feodorovna as well as The Polar Star, an exceptional 41.28-carat diamond that Cartier had purchased from Prince Yusupov, and later sold to Lady Deterding in 1928.
Bib necklace
Cartier Paris, 1955
Gold, diamonds, turquoise
Bangle
Cartier Paris, 1953
Yellow gold, white gold, diamonds, turquoise
This bracelet opens with a hinge.
Provenance:
A member of the Rothschild family
Necklace, bracelet and pair of pendant earclips
Cartier Paris, special order, 1951
Platinum, gold, diamonds, rubies, one synthetic ruby
The five necklace motifs can be detached and worn as brooches.
Provenance:
Lady Deterding
VITRINE 22
Naturalistic inspiration has been part of Cartier’s imaginary for many years, but took on a new spirit with Jeanne Toussaint from the 1930’s. She revisited the figurative vein, giving life and three-dimensionality to this repertoire. The variety of plants— palm trees, exotic flowers and bouquets —as well as animals— from birds, turtles, and dragonflies to owls, snakes, and flamingos —have formed spectacular brooches and necklaces that particularly stand out.
Flower clip brooch
Cartier Paris, special order, 1941
Platinum, white gold, diamonds
The long, flexible stem is fixed only at the top, so allowing it to move when the brooch is worn; a feeling of depth is achieved by the angled polishing of the right-hand edge.
Laurel_ clip brooch
Cartier Paris, 1943
Gold, platinum, diamonds, sapphires
Owl clip brooch
Cartier Paris, 1954
Gold, platinum, diamonds, sapphires
Ring
Cartier, 2016
Pink gold, fire opals, malachite
Flamingo brooch
Cartier Paris, special order, 1940
Platinum, gold, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, citrine
The calibré-cut emeralds, sapphires and rubies, and some of the diamonds were taken from jewels brought by the Duchess of Windsor herself.
Provenance:
The Duchess of Windsor
Born in Baltimore, Wallis Warfield (1896–1986) first married Earl Winfield Spencer, followed by a rich American businessman, Ernest Simpson. Then, in 1934, she met the Prince of Wales. Their affair caused a scandal in Great Britain, and following his accession to the throne in 1936 and Wallis’s second divorce, Edward VIII was forced to abdicate in December so that he could marry her. In March 1937, the new king, George VI, named his brother Duke of Windsor. The couple was married in France in June and moved to Paris where they lived for the rest of their lives. From the late 1930s onward,
the duchess was a great fan of Cartier. Many of her jewels were made in collaboration
with Jeanne Toussaint.
Reversible petal flower clip brooch
Cartier Paris, special order, 1946
Gold, platinum, diamonds
Made for daywear or eveningwear, the petals pivot showing two sides, one paved with diamonds, the other of engraved gold with a leaf motif.
Flower clip brooch
Cartier Paris, special order, 1939
Platinum, diamonds
For this special order, Cartier Paris executed two clip brooches and one bangle. This way, the client had the choice of wearing both clip brooches together, or one of them as a bracelet.
Provenance:
a member of the Romanian royal family
Butterfly clip brooch
Cartier Paris, 1944
Yellow gold, platinum, diamonds, sapphires, turquoise, lapis lazuli, mother-of-pearl
Ring
Cartier, 2015
Gold, diamonds, lapis lazuli
Panache brooch
Cartier Paris, 1942
Gold, platinum, diamonds, emeralds
Rose clip brooch
Cartier London, 1938
Platinum, diamonds
Provenance:
HRH Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon Princess Margaret (1930-2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and sister to Queen Elizabeth II. Princess Margaret wore this brooch to the coronation of her sister on June 2, 1953, at Westminster Abbey.
VITRINE 23
In 1942, during World War II, Cartier designed a bird in a cage brooch with a pro-French Resistance message, as a protest against German occupation.
Conceived by Jeanne Toussaint and designed by Peter Lemarchand—with whom Toussaint had worked closely since 1927—the brooch was displayed in the Maison’s boutique window on the Rue de la Paix. Although called in by the Gestapo, Toussaint avoided prosecution, as her biting provocation was difficult to substantiate. To celebrate the liberation of France, the Maison presented its “Oiseau libéré” (free bird) brooch, with the colors of the French flag as a symbol of the freedom and joy of French society.
Oiseau Libéré brooch
Cartier Paris, 1947
Gold, platinum, diamonds, sapphire (eye), galalith, lapis lazuli
To respect the CITES law, the original coral cabochon was replaced by a galalith copy.
Design executed for the celebration of Cartier 100th anniversary in 1947
Cartier Paris, 1947
Graphite and gouache on paper
It features examples of patriotic jewelry that was created by Cartier during the war: the bird in a cage brooch symbolizing the German occupation, the free bird brooch celebrating the Liberation of Paris, and the Free French Forces insignias.
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