There are several things I truly love – among them the Belle Époque, diamonds, pearls, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and the V&A (the Victoria & Albert Museum, for the very few out there who are unfamiliar with the name). So, when I was invited by Cartier to be among the very first to visit the most significant Cartier exhibition at the V&A in 30 years, I was actually giddy with joy and anticipation. What better building than this venerable and mysterious museum to host the exceptional pieces dreamt up by some of the most illustrious visionaries of the past two centuries? 

This is perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime kind of event, which brings together Cartier jewels and watches from the very beginnings of the brand to the present day. 

It very aptly starts with the inspiration that breathed life into the Cartier aesthetic: India, China, Japan, Egypt, Russia – how curious and cultured and well-travelled those 19th-century people were! I absolutely loved this room, where you can see bits and pieces from these ancient civilisations, together with the Cartier objects that came into being because of the founders’ unbridled imagination and taste for life. 

One caveat before we move further: the exhibition gets very crowded! Even in mid-April, it was already sold out for the next two or three months. The visitors are so happy to have got a ticket that they tend to linger a while in front of the pieces, which means that you have to: 1. bring all the patience you have; 2. be prepared to spend around three hours there. However, the pieces are so incredibly spectacular and special that I don’t think I could have spent less time there, even if I had been the only visitor. 

The event features around 350 objects charting the evolution of the Maison and its profound legacy of art, design and craftsmanship since the turn of the 20th century. This was when the three grandsons of founder Louis-François set out to create the first globally recognised jewellery house, establishing branches in Paris, London and New York (if you have ever admired Cartier’s superb flagship store on Fifth Avenue in NYC, you probably know that it was acquired in exchange for a string of perfect pearls). Soon, Cartier became known as ‘the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers’, later conquering music, cinema and fashion as well. 

The Cartier exhibition at the V&A includes, of course, jewellery, but also amazing objets d’art, historic gemstones, legendary watches and clocks gathered from within the V&A and the Cartier collection. It also boasts previously unseen drawings from the V&A and Cartier archives, together with works graciously lent by His Majesty The King from the Royal Collection. 

I loved everything – the layout, the dark rooms, the photos of bygone splendour, the tiaras – oh, those tiaras! A visit here is one very effective way of travelling back in time, to a period when old Victorians and young debutantes wore splendid jewellery while trying to figure out the extraordinary changes and challenges of a new era. 

If you are like me, in love with beauty, you will find this exhibition overwhelming and will feel the need to see it at least one more time, to try and fix some things into memory forever. One of my favourites is the Williamson Diamond brooch, commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and featuring the very rare 23.6-carat pink Williamson Diamond. Another highlight is the Scroll Tiara, commissioned in 1902 and worn to the coronation of Elizabeth II – in fact all the tiaras are eerily beautiful, you can almost see the aristocratic beauties that wore them in both good and tragic times. I will always see them in my mind’s eye, skilfully displayed as though floating in the air – elegant, decadent, superb, wonderful masterpieces. The tiara room will stay with me forever. 

You can also see Grace Kelly’s engagement ring, which she wore in her last film, High Society, and, of course, the extraordinary snake necklace that belonged to one-of-a-kind Mexican film star Maria Felix. There are many pieces lent by the British Royal Family, ranging from the exceptional to the pieces that you can see have been worn very often, testifying to their very complex and harmonious relationship with jewellery. 

The timekeeping section is also very interesting, from the famously mysterious Cartier clocks to the pieces designed especially for sale in the United Kingdom. 

What stays with me, after seeing all the pieces, is the fact that 100-120 years ago, beauty was much more subtle, more seductive, more… charming and artistic. It never fails to amaze me how Cartier pieces, especially those from the late 19th century, are still incredibly current, wearable and so, so covetable. 

The exhibition curators, Helen Molesworth and Rachel Garrahan, feel that ‘Cartier is one of the most famous jewellery houses in the world. This exhibition explores how Louis, Pierre and Jacques Cartier, together with their father Alfred, adopted a strategy of original design, exceptional craftsmanship and international expansion that transformed the Parisian family jeweller into a household name. With its world-class jewellery collection, the V&A is the perfect stage to celebrate the pioneering achievements of Cartier and its transformative ability to remain at the centre of culture and creativity for more than a century.
’I must urge you to go to see this exhibition – it opens worlds that we once thought forgotten or very foreign. Which they are not.