Book Review: Cartier Royal High Jewelry and Precious Objects
With glossy paper, beautiful photographs, and sizeable heft, Cartier Royal High Jewelry and Precious Objects appears at first glance to be another lush and colorful coffee table book. But it is so much more! A photo gallery of 100 jeweled creations made for the 2014 season comprise this biennial catalog, along with a narrative history focusing on royal jewels and their connection with Cartier over the firm’s entire existence.
Cartier’s 168-year history has been linked with royalty and aristocracy since the influential Princess Mathilde, niece of Napoleon Bonaparte, started purchasing items from the jewelry house in 1859. English royalty also enjoyed Cartier’s services. After the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, a flood of orders came into the Cartier headquarters in anticipation of the 1902 coronation of Edward VII. In 1904, Edward’s consort, Queen Alexandra, awarded Cartier the title of official supplier to the English court. Not content with supplying the most illustrious families in Western Europe, Cartier traveled to Russia in 1907 at the encouragement of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna. Over the course of two months during the fall and winter season of that year, the company gained the attention of the tsar and tsarina and other members of the Russian court. Although business at first was tentative, two years later Cartier was appointed an official supplier to the Russian Imperial Court; until the Russian Revolution in 1917, they served as jewelry supplier to a significant portion of the Russian gentry.
It was during the later years of the 19th century and first years of the 20th century, as it gained popularity with the European royal families, that Cartier’s “garland” style was developed. Royalty and the general public alike met this signature form with great appreciation. The use of platinum for jewelry settings during this time period was in part due to the firm’s innovative casting techniques, exploiting the hard metal’s ability to form with great airiness and finesse. This infinitely light and delicate style coincided with what has been called the Edwardian era, and is now referred to as the Beaux Arts period.
In 1911 Jacques Cartier traveled to the Indian subcontinent to buy gemstones and connect with wealthy Indian maharajahs, resulting in some of the most lavish pieces Cartier has ever produced, including a choker-style necklace for the Maharaja of Patiala, featuring ruby cabochons, natural pearls, and diamonds set in platinum. Connoisseurship of colored gemstones began at this time and continues to be a hallmark of Cartier style. Connections to the wealthiest families in the world fed the house’s reputation and set the firm up to receive the newest form of royalty: movie stars. Elizabeth Taylor was a devoted fan, and had Cartier mount the famous La Peregrina pearl in a double-strand natural pearl choker intersected with diamond and ruby quatrefoils, with an additional diamond and ruby flame pendant connecter. Merle Oberon was another Cartier devotee. Almost as famous for her jewels as for her acting talents, perhaps her most noteworthy piece was a necklace of drop baroque emeralds accented by numerous small diamonds.
Exceptional gems are noted in a chapter on Cartier jewelry inspired by these worldly treasures. So many famous gems have passed through the firm’s hands, including the Hope, Pasha diamond, and Williamson Pink diamonds. Colored gems are also given their due and include the Berenice emerald, Queen Marie of Spain’s 478.68 ct faceted blue sapphire, and the Nawanagar necklace, featuring 119 Burmese rubies and totaling 210 carats of crimson perfection.
The book’s photography is superb and highlights all the features you would want to find in jeweled pieces of wearable art. Rare archival photographs add so much to the text, allowing the reader to visualize the personalities that were active Cartier clients. The one criticism that I have with this book is the print. It is frustrating for older eyes to focus on the very small and light gray type; I would hope in the future that this feature could be improved. This book is an excellent choice for anyone with an interest in Cartier, royal jewels, jewelry history, or jewelry design.
