Cartier at the V & A

“Everything grows from something that grew before”

The  year before this show came to London I was given a book about Cartier from the period of 1900 - 1939 by a friend of mine who works in the British Museum. It was in there that I came across this wonderful quote from a designer named James Gardner who worked for Cartier in London in 1923. Under the close supervision of Jacque Cartier he was instructed to go into the extensive archives, which contained details of all of the jeweller's previous designs along with everything from 'Chinese carpets, Celtic bronze work, Japanese sword hilts...' to find references for the bespoke commissions he was given to work on.  One of the information panels in the exhibition makes the point that it is a remarkable feature of Cartier that although they have produced a wide variety of work, all of it has retained an identity.  It feels like Cartier. This was the experience of the show, a sense of the vast world of Cartier but through it a sense of familiarity amongst the great diversity of creations.

Russian style tiara - diamonds and pearls seem to hang in midair

The first room of the exhibition was breathtaking.  Literally.  I heard a lady gasp beside me as we walked in.  There was an array of diamond tiaras and clips in the garland style in a large glass display case. The ambient lights were low and the diamonds, mostly set in platinum were picked out in spot lights. What was pleasing for me was that the display cases were doubled-sided so that the backs of the tiaras were visible. If you go, be sure to spend some time inspecting the reverse side of the case. This work is often called fretwork because of the tool used for doing it, the humble fretsaw. A thin serrated blade held in tension on a D-shaped metal bar which allows a skilled jeweller to do incredibly fine work. One slip however, and all may be lost. Letting the eye rove over the intricacies of the metalwork, with large sections made from one piece of shaped platinum the skill and concentration were overwhelmingly evident.

Diamond brooch in platinum

There is a pleasing scope in the show from big moments to small ones. The big moments were undoubtedly the diamonds. I stood for several minutes in front of a brooch in the design of a bow with a hanging drapery of diamonds imitating fabric. Each time I turned away I could swear I saw the folds of diamonds move as if in a breeze. On turning back I found them became static again. It was like magic. The metalwork seemed almost to be non-existent, with the diamonds hanging in mid-air. This is the finest realisation I have seen of the general principle of gemstone mounting; that the gems should be the focus and the metal work as invisible as possible.

Diamond Tiara in platinum

Something else became evident as I moved from one case to the next gradually becoming absorbed by the display, and that is the scale of the Cartier enterprise. The Company was founded by Louis Francois Cartier in 1847 and the man was successful in his own time. His clientele were amongst royalty and high society but it wasn’t until his grandsons Pierre, Louis and Jacques took over and established stores in London and New York as well that Cartier became a global brand. The resources needed to deliver jewels of this scale are considerable. To make a highly realised geometric arrangement of perfectly matching gemstones requires a large collection of in-house gems and an extensive network of gemstone and diamond suppliers. The larger and finer these gems are the harder it becomes to assemble a set of them. To run a workshop that produces work of this calibre, presumably with multiple pieces being worked on simultaneously requires recruiting the finest jewellers of every discipline and retaining them with a constant stream of work. The meticulous work of drawing up the designs and filling the geometric forms of clusters, sprays and tendrils with perfectly sized diamonds and gemstones fitting edge to edge and tapering into every flourish is huge.

Diamond Tiara with Feather and Diamonds

The smaller moments were typified by delicacy. A feathered tiara shot through with curving pave tendrils, suspended with drop diamonds in platinum like droplets of water. The delicacy and movement both refined in themselves and suggestive of the refined atmosphere of the court in which they would have been worn. They recall a moment in history when the modern world with all its explosion of wealth and newly discovered diamonds was overlaid on the old world of courts and royalty.  Cartier was at its height then, right before the sobering cataclysms of the 1930's changed the nature of society and the spaces for these jewels to exist in was never the same. 

Topaz and diamond brooch with a wonderful sense of movement

One of the highlights for me was the sequence of cabinets in the first main room showing jewels inspired by specific regions of Asia. Cartier looked to the pattern work of Islamic art for the geometry of many of its creations. One design feature held me a while; the combination of resolved patterns of tight geometry framing other patterns whose structure seemed to require a massive scale upon which to resolve themselves, thus creating a sense of the infinite. This is done without the explicit iconography that we are more accustomed to in western art like the crosses and figures of Christ.

Japanese inspired jade and coral earrings

In a display case of pieces inspired by Japan an exquisite platinum cuff bracelet depicts a sprig of cherry blossoms whose bark is onyx inlay and whose flowers are cabochon rubies and emeralds.   A wonderful pair of drop earrings featuring a pair of Jade discs inset with geometric carvings of coral, the shapes so exactly pleasing and in proportion.

Mughal emerald and rock crystal necklace

Inspired by India came some wonderfully lyrical pieces. A 99ct carved Mughal emerald framed in the most delicate edges of platinum pave, holding a further frame of carved rock crystal. The whole jewel seems to disappear into thin air with the fissures and imperfections of the emerald adding an exquisite sense of the ephemeral to the piece. There was a sense of reverence for the natural material here, framed so masterfully.

Decagonal Watch

The later displays left me somewhat cold and I must admit I passed by them quite quickly. The Cartier Tank and Santos watches, riffs on the machinery and industrial aesthetics of the early 20th century and more recently the nail bangle - a chunky oversized nail bent into a bangle. One watch did catch my eye. Something about the proportions was just perfect and satisfying. A decagonal gold case with chunky roman numerals on the dial and a cabochon sapphire winding crown. A superb example of classical proportions with a playful twist. It somehow keeps the eye interested, its simplicity at once restful and also alive.

The show finished with a super life-sized, slightly gritty image of Rhianna, modern day pop queen, wearing a diamond tiara. The princesses and courtiers of today are the celebrities and pop icons that fill our magazines and social media feeds. Instead of wearing these jewels in court, in the palaces of Europe and high society parties they are worn on red carpets events and in magazine shoots. Times may have changed and jewellery with it but from the looks of this exhibition and the effect it had on the visitors, its power and relevance have not.

The show runs until 16th November and is well worth going to see.

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