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| Passion Investments: Gems & Jewelry |
The Jewels in the Cartier Crown
Jill Newman
09/01/2004
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As the 19th century turned into the 20th, the Cartier brothers, Jacques,
Louis and Pierre, embarked on audacious journeys around the world from India and
Russia to Persia and the Far East. Not content to simply follow in the footsteps
of their great-grandfather, Louis-Francois, who founded the House of Cartier in
1847, the three scions were refined young men in search of both adventure and
new aesthetic influences.
 Louis went to Russia to learn about the fine enamel
work of Peter Carl Fabergé and the great artistry of the Russian Ballet. He also
journeyed to Africa, where he found his most legendary inspiration, the panther.
Jacques explored the Persian Gulf in search of the finest pearls and visited
India to learn of the colorful stones used in jewels for the maharajas. Pierre
trekked to North America to establish relationships with its powerful tycoons.
VALUE JUDGMENT
150 years, the Cartier name has been synonymous with exquisite jewelry.
Designs proffered in the early 20th century by the great-grandsons of the
founder are among the most desirable pieces.
• Although the
modern iteration of the brand is becoming more ubiquitous, vintage Cartier
pieces continue to fascinate collectors and command impressive prices at
auction.
• Keeping a Cartier jewel in the original red leather box will
help maximize its resale value.
•Art Deco began early at Cartier,
before World War I, and fine deco pieces represent its most innovative
era.
• Pieces that adorned famous owners will command dazzling prices
for generations. |
By this time, the crowned heads of Europe and the international elite had
long adored the family’s creations. Cartier jewels illuminated the lavish balls
and parties that were a mainstay of Napoleon III’s reign. Louis-Francois
Cartier, who created Renaissance-style adornments for Empress Eugenie and
Princess Mathilde, taught the family trade to his son, Louis-Francois Alfred,
who in turn passed the skills on to his child, Alfred. In 1899, Alfred entrusted
his three sons with the future of the brand. In their well-schooled hands, the
French luxury jeweler became truly one of the most innovative and dynamic design
houses in the world during the first half of the 20th century. This era marked
Cartier’s golden age, when the brothers’ willingness to experiment in myriad
mediums and their African, Asian and Middle Eastern influences ushered in an
extraordinary new design movement.
The passion and innovation of Cartier’s
creations will be on display for U.S. audiences next month, when a traveling
exhibition of the family’s work arrives in the United States. Beginning October
31, the show will be at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston (MFAH) through March
2005.
Devotees will be particularly eager to examine the work of Louis, who
possessed a skill and passion for decorative arts and international culture. He
introduced platinum into jewelry making, enabling Cartier to refine the iconic
garland-style diamond necklace using a more durable metal. As early as 1906, he
pioneered Art Deco design, with strong geometric silhouettes and bold colors. He
pursued the world’s supreme clockmakers to collaborate on ornamented timepieces.
The sleek panther that informed some of Cartier’s most celebrated jewelry,
watches and objets d’art, most famously in the Duchess of Windsor’s panther
brooch, remains as captivating today (in vintage pieces and new panther
collections) as it did at its debut nearly 90 years ago. The cat first appeared
in 1914 on a jeweler’s display card that depicted a black panther crouched at
the feet of an elegant woman. In subsequent years, the panther became a Cartier
icon, seen often as an actual feline motif, but also in the “panther skin” watch
bezel of onyx and pave-set diamonds, and the watches and necklaces with links
coiled like a cat.
 | | (Photograph courtesy of Cartier.) |
World War I’s devastating impact may have played a pivotal
role in prompting Cartier and other luxury brands to forge new design paths,
notes Peter Marzio, director of the MFAH, the institution coordinating the
traveling exhibition. “After the war, many people felt liberated from the notion
of conservative values and protecting physical assets that were so easily
destroyed. There was a strange sense of liberation and openness developing among
many artists and their patrons.”
From around 1915 through the early 1950s,
Marzio adds, the House of Cartier was “truly avant-garde, almost radical, and
yet the company was financially successful, which is a rare combination.
Usually, there is a big lag between groundbreaking design and the commercial
success of a designer or product.”
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