Collecting guide: Cartier jewellery

Loved by royalty and Hollywood stars, Cartier has been synonymous with glamour for more than a century. We look at some of its most iconic jewels, from the peak of art deco to Panthère and ‘Tutti Frutti’ — illustrated with pieces offered at Christie’s

An extraordinary Cartier art deco diamond necklace, circa 1935, offered on 12 November 2024 at Christie's in Geneva. In the video above Althea Hanshaw, Jewellery specialist in Geneva, unveils some of Cartier's most historic and alluring jewels

From left to right, three pieces offered in Magnificent Jewels on 10 December 2024 at Christie’s in New York: An iconic Cartier Art Deco multi-gem and diamond brooch, c. 1914. Briolette-cut pink tourmaline, carved ruby, carved and calibré-cut onyx plaques, old and single-cut diamonds, platinum.15.2 cm x 3.2 cm (6 in x 1¼ in). Estimate: $100,000-150,000. From MICA: THE COLLECTION OF MICA ERTEGUN; An important cartier Art Deco diamond and coral bracelet, c. 1930. Old, single, round, baguette, and square-shaped diamonds, carved coral beads, platinum (French marks). 18.4 cm (7¼ in). Estimate: $300,000-500,000; Cartier Art Deco diamond and fabric bracelet, c. 1920. Old and rose-cut diamonds, platinum (French marks), black fabric cord. 16.3 cm x 2.2 cm (6½ in x ⅞ in). Estimate: $100,000-150,000.

Cartier: a glittering history

The house of Cartier was founded in 1847, when the 28-year-old Louis-François Cartier took over a shop at 29 Rue Montorgueil in Paris. His son Alfred Cartier took control of the company in 1874, by which time it already had an excellent reputation. However, it was Alfred’s three sons — Louis, Pierre and Jacques — who would go on to establish Cartier as a world-famous jewellery brand.

While Louis retained responsibility for Paris, in 1902 Pierre went to London and, only two years later, received the Royal Warrant, thereby supplying jewellery to King Edward VII and his court. In 1909, leaving Jacques in charge of the London business, Pierre travelled to New York and set up shop there. In 1917, he famously acquired 653 Fifth Avenue for two strands of the very finest pearls, and that piece of prime real estate remains a flagship store to this day.

Photograph of the designer, philanthropist and collector Mica Ertegun wearing an iconic Cartier Art Deco multi-gem and diamond brooch c. 1914 which will be offered in Magnificent Jewels on 10 December 2024 at Christie’s in New York

An iconic Cartier Art Deco multi-gem and diamond brooch, c. 1914. Briolette-cut pink tourmaline, carved ruby, carved and calibré-cut onyx plaques, old and single-cut diamonds, platinum.15.2 cm x 3.2 cm (6 in x 1¼ in). Estimate: $100,000-150,000. From MICA: THE COLLECTION OF MICA ERTEGUN. Offered in Magnificent Jewels on 10 December 2024 at Christie’s in New York

Since then the firm has expanded globally, becoming what many consider to be the finest jewellery house in the world. Its clientele has encompassed royalty, film stars and business tycoons. King Farouk of Egypt, the Duchess of Windsor, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly and Clark Gable all went to Cartier to buy jewellery or have pieces made.

The modern style: Art Deco

The 1920s and 1930s saw Cartier create objects in the Art Deco style, amplified by Europe’s fascination with Asia. Fine jewellery and more quotidian objects such as minaudières, brooches, clocks, cigarette cases and picture frames were embellished with European and ‘Oriental’ forms that became signature motifs of the maison’s creations at the time. Wrought in exceptional and often rare materials, these objects are exemplars of the style moderne of the era.

Cartier Art Deco diamond and fabric bracelet, c. 1920. Old and rose-cut diamonds, platinum (French marks), black fabric cord. 16.3 cm x 2.2 cm (6½ in x ⅞ in). Estimate: $100,000-150,000. Offered in Magnificent Jewels on 10 December 2024 at Christie’s in New York

Cartier Art Deco diamond bracelet, c. 1925. Old-cut diamonds, platinum. 17.1 x 1.9 cm (6¾ x ¾ in). Estimate: $100,000-150,000. Offered in Magnificent Jewels on 10 December 2024 at Christie’s in New York

Cartier’s Great Cats

In 1914, the first ‘Great Cat’ motif entered the Cartier family by means of an onyx-spotted panther-pattern wristwatch created by the famous French designer Charles Jacqueau. Through the years, the initial pattern has evolved into fully sculpted animals, and the array of cats has widened to include the tiger as well as the panther.

Promoted to director of high jewellery at Cartier in 1933, Jeanne Toussaint, a feline-lover nicknamed ‘The Panther’ by Louis Cartier and her colleagues, immediately took responsibility for supervising the Great Cat designs. Together with Peter Lemarchand, a designer of outstanding creativity, she produced a variety of jewels that immortalised the feline motif in the annals of Cartier design.

Cartier tsavorite garnet and onyx ‘Panthère’ earrings. Circular-cut tsavorite garnet eyes, buff-top onyx noses, gold (French marks). Estimate: €2,000-3,000. Offered in Jewels Online: The London Edit on 15-29 November 2024 at Christie’s in London

After the first three-dimensional panther was created in 1948 for the Duchess of Windsor, other distinguished Cartier clients began to fall in love with the jewels. Daisy Fellowes and Nina Dyer, for example, both appropriated this new look. American heiress Barbara Hutton, a noted style rival of the Duchess of Windsor, also had a preference for Toussaint’s tiger menagerie.

Over the course of more than a century, the iconic Cartier cats have gone through multiple variations, but they are still considered a must-have for jewellery collectors today. Feline designs from the 1980s and 1990s only increased the demand for these spectacular jewels.

Trinity rings: chic for 100 years

Cartier’s ‘Trinity’ three-ring design marks its centenary in 2024, having first made its appearance in 1924 during the craze for Art Deco jewellery. It was designed by Jean Cocteau, the French writer, painter, filmmaker and poet, who was a great friend of Louis Cartier.

The simplicity of the three interlocking rings, each of a different gold colour, quickly made the design a classic. It seemed appropriate that this ring, which supposedly symbolised friendship, fidelity and love, should be a favourite among jewellery collectors. Despite its simple appearance, the Trinity is a technical feat that requires perfect craftsmanship to allow the three bands to slide smoothly over the skin.

Cartier Art Deco sapphire, diamond and multi-gem ring, c. 1929. Carved oval cabochon sapphire, calibré-cut rubies, emeralds, sapphires, amethysts, single and old-cut diamonds, platinum. Estimate: $40,000-60,000. Offered in Magnificent Jewels on 10 December 2024 at Christie’s in New York

The multi-gem Tutti Frutti style

Cartier has always been at the forefront of innovation. Jacques Cartier first visited India in 1911 and, through his buying agents in Delhi, Calcutta and Bombay, managed to acquire Indian rubies, sapphires and emeralds, carved with floral motifs, at relatively modest prices.

A very unique multi-gem “Cartier ‘India’ tutti-frutti” necklace. Sold for HK$67,775,000 on 27 May 2024 at Christie’s in Hong Kong

The workshops in Paris assimilated Indian designs into a new style of multi-gem jewels, far removed from the typical severity of purely diamond-based Art Deco pieces. This became known as Cartier’s ‘Tutti Frutti’ style.

The genre reached its peak with a stunning piece, the ‘Hindu necklace’, commissioned in 1936 by the heiress to the Singer sewing-machine company, Daisy Fellowes.

Cartier Art Deco sapphire and diamond clip-brooch combination cuff bracelet, c. 1935. Set with two detachable clip-brooches, variously-shaped sapphire beads, old and round diamonds, 18k white gold (French marks, partially distorted). Estimate: $150,000-250,000. Offered in Magnificent Jewels on 10 December 2024 at Christie’s in New York

Love and Juste un Clou

In 1969, Aldo Cipullo joined Cartier in New York after serving an apprenticeship in his native Italy, and later at David Webb. Within two years, he had created two of the most iconic Cartier designs: the ‘Love’ and the ‘Juste un Clou’ — minimalist, whimsical and ingenious.

The ‘Juste un Clou’ (meaning ‘only a nail’) is a brilliantly imaginative creation, taking the form of a simple carpentry nail that has been dramatically curved to turn it into a bangle, ring or earring.

Cartier Art Deco multi-gem and diamond ‘lovebird’ brooch, c. 1928. Designed as two lovebirds, buff-top ruby cabochons, round emerald cabochons, round, single and rose-cut diamonds, black enamel, platinum. 3.5 x 2.1 cm (13⁄8 x 7⁄8 in). Estimate: $50,000-70,000. Offered in Magnificent Jewels on 10 December 2024 at Christie’s in New York

The Love bracelet, a band in two sections, has to be screwed together with the aid of a screwdriver — provided by Cartier of course. (Once in a place, the bracelet is not intended to be removed.) In a brilliant marketing move, Cartier made the decision to gift his-and-her love bracelets to the most famous couples of the era, including Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw.

A symbol as strong as the eternity ring itself, the Love bracelet has been, for more than half a century, a token of love and attachment.

Cartier Art Deco black opal and diamond bracelet, c. 1930. Oval and pear-shaped black opals, old and single-cut diamonds, platinum. 16.2 cm x 1.7 cm (6⅜ in x ⅝ in). Estimate: $60,000-80,000. Offered in Magnificent Jewels on 10 December 2024 at Christie’s in New York

‘Jeweller of kings’: great Cartier collectors

King Edward VII referred to Cartier as ‘the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers’, and the maison’s reputation was such that at the 1911 coronation of King George V, 19 of the tiaras worn at the ceremony were by Cartier. From Spain to Russia, India to Siam, the world’s royalty made Cartier the pre-eminent supplier of aristocratic jewellery.

Socialites and movie stars followed suit, with Merle Oberon, Grace Kelly and Gloria Swanson all becoming great collectors of Cartier jewellery.

An important cartier Art Deco diamond and coral bracelet, c. 1930. Old, single, round, baguette, and square-shaped diamonds, carved coral beads, platinum (French marks). 18.4 cm (7¼ in). Estimate: $300,000-500,000. Offered in Magnificent Jewels on 10 December 2024 at Christie’s in New York

The most discerning collectors of diamonds would go to Cartier to have them mounted. Such was the case with Solomon Barnato Joel, who had made his fortune in South African diamond mines, being the director of Barnato Brothers as well as De Beers Consolidated. In 1912, he asked Cartier to mount four of his best diamonds, resulting in the creation of this devant-de-corsage brooch (above left), which was the height of fashion during the Belle Epoque.

Cartier set of citrine and diamond jewelry, c. 1935. Comprising a pair of earrings and a brooch, rectangular, pear-shaped and round citrines, old, square and single-cut diamonds, yellow gold. Earrings: 2.5 cm (1 in); brooch: 5 x 3.1 cm (2 x 1¼ in). Estimate: $40,000-60,000. Offered in Magnificent Jewels on 10 December 2024 at Christie’s in New York

Designed around a central pear-shaped diamond of more than 34 carats, two navette-shaped diamonds and a heart-shaped diamond, this devant-de-corsage is an example of the subtle and delicate ‘Lily-of-the-Valley’ setting used by Cartier around 1910 and mastered by its famous workshop, the Atelier Henri Picq in Paris.

To this day, Cartier remains a favourite among great jewellery collectors and royal families. For example, Catherine, Princess of Wales, chose to wear the Cartier Halo diamond tiara for her wedding to Prince William in 2011.

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