The influential history of Cartier on exhibition at the V&A Museum in London

What have in common Rihanna, Queen Elizabeth II and Maharajá de Patiala? His passion for the jewelry of Cartier, as shown by the exhibition of London that tells the history of jewelry founded in the nineteenth century.

The historical exhibition, simply called 'Cartier', will open on Saturday at the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in London, and will run until November 16.

It will be the first retrospect for French jewelry founded in 1847 to be held in London for 30 years, said Helen Molesworth, the main curator of the exhibition, speaking with the AFP agency.

Above all, he added, it will be the first exhibition of Cartier of such a range that is held in the United Kingdom.

It will show visitors 350 pieces of jewelry, between tiaras, brooches, rings, watches and necklaces, from the best museums in the world, from the Cartier collection and private loans, such as those of King Carlos III and Prince Albert II of Monaco. Some of the pieces will be exhibited for the first time, and the event is already exhausted for the months of April and May.

Major Exhibits Include The Brooch Featuring A 23-Crat Williamson Pinkand Diamond Ordered by Queen Elizabeth II In 1953, Shown in public for the first time, The Scroll Tiara Ordered In 1902 And Worn at Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation, As Well As By Rihanna On The Cover of W Magazine In The Magazine In 2016, to Brooch in the Shape of A Rose Worn By Princess Margaret, Elizabeth II's Sister, and Grace Kelly's commitment ring.

The Pièce de Résensence is a room that exhibits 18 tiaras made between 1900 and today.

Real order

Leaving the glamor aside, the exhibition looks beyond the brightness of this variety of precious stones.

“One of the things we wanted to show was Cartier's inheritance,” as a house that has been able to renew and continue to thrive, said Molesworth.

The exhibition has deepened the sources that have inspired Cartier, from Islamic and Persian art to the art of India and Russia.

“The Cartier brothers used to travel extensively, and fed on their trips to foster their inventiveness,” said Molesworth.

First, the Cartier brothers were able to anticipate trends. The impressive collars of diamonds of the roaring veins were followed by more discrete gold bracelets designed in the 1960s, and now iconic.

“I think one of Cartier's great achievements is that he is always in advance in his time, and at the forefront of fashion,” said Molesworth.

The history of the camera is mixed with the story with a capital H, as evidenced by the section dedicated to the 'Liberation of Bird', a piece designed in 1944 to celebrate the end of World War II.

Next to him, other brooches made during the occupation of Nazi Germany of France have caged birds. A particular bird comes in the colors of the French flag.

The other main feature of the V&A exhibition is that it stops in the special relationship between Cartier and the United Kingdom Royal Family.

It began at the beginning of 1900, in 1904, when King Eduardo VII granted a real order to Cartier, a very coveted recognition that goes back to the Middle Ages, distinguishing the best artisans. Cartier still has this order.

“Queen Maria, Elizabeth II's grandmother, was a great Cartier collector,” said Molesworth, stressing that each real family generation has added to the collection.

Some of the articles are well known by the British public, such as the Halo Tiara ordered by King Jorge VI (Elizabeth II's father) for his wife, Queen Elizabeth, the queen, the mother.

Princess Anne used Tiara at her first wedding, in 1992, and more recently for Kate Middleton, when she married Prince William in 2011.