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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

How to Use this Booklet

This booklet contains the exhibition text for Brilliant:
Cartier in the 20th Century in large print. As indicated
in the Table of Contents on page 3, this exhibition is
organized thematically by section. The tabs of this booklet
correspond to each section in the exhibition and contain
the introductory text, followed by reference images of the
artworks in that section that have extended label information.

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Large Print Guide
Table of Contents
A Introduction ...............................................................5
B Aristocracy & Aspiration ...........................................7
C New Outlook: Art Deco............................................15
D Foreign Fascination.................................................19
E India & Persia..........................................................21
F Egypt.......................................................................27
G East Asia.................................................................33
H Exotic Fantasy.........................................................35
I Art of Smoking.........................................................41
J Masculine View.......................................................45
K Workshop................................................................55
L Age of Glamour.......................................................59
M Icons of Style...........................................................65

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Audio Tour Instructions

This booklet does not contain the text of the audio tour,
but here are the instructions for your convenience. If you
would like a large print transcript of the audio tour, ask
museum staff for assistance.

Audio Instructions

1 Look for these symbols above
the paintings.
100 200
A D U LT FA M I LY

2 Enter the three-digit number on your
keypad, then press the green play button.

VOLUME UP

PLAY/PAUSE STOP

VOLUME DOWN

3 Please return your player to the attendant
when you leave the exhibition.

Enjoy Your Visit

Large print transcripts are available.
Please ask audio assistant.

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Large Print Guide

Introductory Panel

In 1899, the jeweler Cartier strategically moved to
Paris’s rue de la Paix, already a destination for luxury
shoppers from around the world. Its customers
included visiting kings, emperors, maharajas, and
aristocrats. But brothers Louis, Pierre, and Jacques
Cartier (grandsons of the founder) shared a greater
ambition: to become the world’s leading supplier of
jewelry and precious accessories. Their first step was
to open a branch in London in 1902 to take advantage
of the business generated by the coronation of
King Edward VII. Their New York branch opened in
1909, conveniently accessible to America’s socially
ambitious businessmen and their wives. Thus
positioned for success, Cartier offered innovative
designs, sumptuous materials, and superlative
craftsmanship at all three locations.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Scroll tiara

Cartier Paris, special order, 1902
Silver, gold, and diamonds
In 1900, much Cartier jewelry resembled that made in
earlier centuries for the French court: highly ornate and
fashioned of gold (topped by silver to enhance the
whiteness of the diamonds).

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Aristocracy and Aspiration

Europe’s traditional social order was founded on
hereditary rank and land ownership. But in the 1800s
that stable order was shaken. Banking, industrialization,
urban development, and the construction of modern
transportation and communications systems generated
great new fortunes—especially in the United States.
The newly wealthy were eager to share the privileged
lifestyle of Europe’s aristocracy and to marry into
its ranks. By the 1900s, Europe’s kings, dukes, and
counts were mingling socially with rich American
bankers, industrialists, and heiresses such as Mary
Scott Townsend, whose exquisite jewels are on view
nearby. Fashionable clothing and dazzling jewels
were essential indicators of status, wealth, and taste,
and Cartier’s creations were the most prestigious of all.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Stomacher brooch

Cartier Paris, special order, 1907
Platinum, sapphires, and
diamonds

A “stomacher” brooch was worn on the bodice, just below
the bosom.

Laurel leaf tiara

Cartier Paris, special order, 1907
Platinum and diamonds
Qatar Museums Authority

For her wedding to Prince George of Greece and
Denmark, Princess Marie Bonaparte (grandniece of
Napoleon Bonaparte) ordered jewels from Cartier. The
wreathlike form of this tiara recalls the Roman imperial
style popular at Napoleon’s court.

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Large Print Guide

Frame

Cartier Paris, 1910
Pink and green gold, silver,
sapphires, rock crystal, and
natural pearls

Purchased by Nancy Leeds, wife of a tin-mining millionaire.
She wears a Cartier diamond tiara in the photograph.

Model A mystery clock

Cartier New York, 1927
Gold, platinum, rock crystal,
diamonds, mother-of-pearl,
and onyx

Evalyn Walsh McLean, daughter of a wealthy Colorado
gold miner, owned this clock. She was a prominent jewelry
collector who also purchased two of the century’s most
spectacular jewels from Cartier: the 94.8-carat Star of the
East diamond and the 45.52-carat blue Hope diamond.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Desk clock with minute
repeater

Cartier Paris, 1909
Platinum, gold, silver, agate,
enamel, sapphires, moonstone,
and diamonds
A minute repeater chimes the hour, quarter hour, and
minute when the button is depressed.

Pendant/Lapel watch

Cartier Paris, 1911
Platinum, gold, enamel, and
diamonds
Chas Schwartz & Son Collection
Around 1900, Louis Cartier created a new specialty in
making clocks and watches, in a deliberate effort to revive
France’s historic greatness in this field.

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Large Print Guide

Pendant

Cartier Paris, 1912
Platinum, diamonds, sapphires,
natural pearls, and rock crystal
A plaster cast was made to document this multicomponent
pendant. The central oval can be worn separately, as a
brooch.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

The Ballets Russes Style

Performances by the innovative Russian dance company,
the Ballets Russes, created a cultural sensation in Paris
beginning in 1909. They featured music by avant-garde
composers, revolutionary choreography, exotic costumes,
and vibrantly colored sets. Ballets such as Scheherazade
and The Blue God attracted Paris’s cultural elite and
quickly inspired new trends in interior design, fashion,
and jewelry. Cartier designed bold jewelry with vividly
colored stones such as sapphires and emeralds. Costume
parties were the rage, held in houses decorated as
Persian palaces. Guests arrived on elephants, or in
gilded cages, wearing extravagant clothing and jewels.

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Large Print Guide

Pendant

Cartier Paris, 1913
Platinum, 478-carat sapphire,
and diamonds
Qatar Museums Authority
Made at the height of the Ballets Russes era, this pendant
was not sold until 1921, when King Ferdinand of Romania
purchased it for his wife, Queen Marie, to replace jewels
confiscated from them during the Russian Revolution.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

End of an Era

The luxurious and cosmopolitan world inhabited by
wealthy Parisians and international visitors came to an
abrupt end in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I.
Travelers returned home, men enlisted in the armed forces,
and resources were diverted to the war effort. As the war
ground on, devastating Europe and causing huge loss of
life, there was little appetite for lavish jewelry. Social and
political unrest throughout Europe culminated in the
Russian Revolution, which violently swept away the ruling
Romanov family and Russia’s aristocracy. The incoming
Bolshevik government confiscated imperial jewels, as well
as treasures owned by the aristocratic Youssoupov family.

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New Outlook: Art Deco

After the devastation of World War I, both Europeans
and Americans longed for novelty, luxury, and fun. In
America, a drastic cut in the income tax rate and a
soaring stock market fueled spending. Women, who
had filled men’s jobs during the war, refused to stay
at home. Instead, they flaunted their new freedoms,
smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, dancing publicly,
and wearing makeup. Flapper fashions of the 1920s
featured short hair and loose sleeveless dresses with
short hemlines (no corsets!). These new styles called
for new forms of jewelry, including sautoirs (long
necklaces), bandeaus (worn across the forehead),
dangling earrings, buckle brooches (worn at the hip),
and strap bracelets with geometric designs.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Greyhound vanity case

Cartier Paris, special order, 1920
Platinum, pink gold, onyx,
diamonds, emeralds, rubies,
citrine, and amethysts
Pierre Cartier Foundation

The three greyhounds on this sentimental gift from Pierre
Cartier to his wife, Elma, probably represent the couple
and their daughter Marion. Pierre and his wife affectionately
referred to one another as “my popular pup.”

Brooch

Cartier Paris, 1924
Platinum, gold, an approximately
57.60-carat sapphire cabochon,
diamonds, rock crystal, pearls,
mother-of-pearl, and enamel

A cabochon is a gem that has been shaped and polished
rather than cut into facets. It typically has a rounded top
and flat bottom.

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Large Print Guide

Cliquet pin

Cartier New York, special order,
1927
Platinum, diamonds, emeralds,
and enamel

Cliquet pins have two components. The shaft of the upper
element is thrust through the fabric of a hat or garment;
the lower element “clicks” into place, securing the jewel.

Bracelets

Cartier Paris, 1930
Platinum, diamonds, and rock
crystal
Gloria Swanson was a famous actress in silent pictures
and then in the “talkies.” She wore these bracelets in
several films, including, later in her career, Sunset
Boulevard (1950).

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century
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Large Print Guide

Foreign Fascination

After World War I, the Ballets Russes dance company
returned to Paris and London, reawakening a hunger
for color, pattern, and the mystique of foreign lands.
The sensational 1922 discovery of King Tutankhamun’s
tomb, filled with remarkable jewelry and other
treasures, generated excitement around the globe.
Visits to Europe by Indian maharajas and their
entourages were reported in the press, and Asian art
was popularized through exhibitions and theatrical
performances.

Keenly attuned to the times, Jacques Cartier traveled
to the Persian Gulf and India in search of pearls,
precious stones, and design inspiration, and Louis
Cartier purchased Asian, Islamic, and Egyptian
antiques from Parisian dealers. Cartier’s designers
incorporated these materials, along with foreign motifs
and patterns, into distinctive new forms of jewelry.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Notebook

“List of jewels imported into Siam
by Monsieur Glaenzer,” 1908
Cartier senior salesman Jules Glaenzer traveled to Siam
(Thailand) in 1908, seeking sales to the royal court.
For customs purposes, it was essential to document the
jewelry and stones he carried.

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Large Print Guide

India and Persia

In the popular European imagination, India and Persia
(largely modern-day Iran) were fairytale lands of
fabulous wealth, ruled by maharajas and princes in
splendid palaces. In fact, India was the world’s
principal source of diamonds until well into the
1800s, and Indian treasuries contained spectacular
jewelry, as well as unmounted diamonds, pearls,
and colored gemstones (traditional symbols of royal
power and legitimacy). Under British rule, many
Indian princes traveled in Europe, where they
purchased luxury goods, including Cartier jewelry.
Many brought with them their own stones, which they
had set in platinum, a fashionable material not found
in traditional Indian or Persian jewelry. At the same
time, European and American buyers prized Cartier
jewelry that incorporated Indian forms, motifs, and
materials, such as engraved emeralds.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Workshop study for the
setting of a diamond
necklace made for the
Maharaja of Patiala
in 1928.

The colored dots represent the stones supplied by
Cartier; the maharaja provided the larger gems.

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Large Print Guide

Commemorative brochure
for the Maharaja of
Patiala’s jewels, 1928

Beginning in 1925, Sir Bhupinder Singh, Maharaja of
Patiala, entrusted Cartier Paris with hundreds of rubies,
pearls, emeralds, and diamonds (including a vivid yellow,
234.69-carat diamond). After three years of work, Cartier
displayed dozens of pieces it had made with his gems
at the rue de la Paix shop and published an illustrated
brochure. Many years later one of the maharaja’s
magnificent diamond necklaces was rediscovered, but its
largest stones had been removed. Cartier meticulously
restored the necklace, replacing the largest gems with
colorless gemstones and artificial equivalents.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Bracelet

Cartier Paris, 1923
Platinum, gold, diamonds, carved
57.80-carat emerald, emerald
beads, onyx, and enamel

Sautoir

Cartier New York, special order,
1925
Platinum, diamonds, carved
hexagonal 85.60-carat emerald
and 50 fluted emerald beads
weighing an estimated total of
517 carats, and natural pearls

According to Indian tradition, emeralds are good luck;
after the discovery of the Americas in 1492, large quantities
were imported to India from Colombia. In traditional Indian
jewelry, emeralds usually have rounded, rather than
faceted, surfaces, and many are drilled as beads. Some
are engraved with floral motifs.

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Large Print Guide

Vanity case

Cartier London, 1928
Gold, diamonds, sapphires,
rubies, jade, onyx, and enamel
Pierre Cartier Foundation

A vase with a profusely flowering plant and perching birds
is a common motif on Persian and Indian carpets.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century
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Large Print Guide

Egypt

Napoleon Bonaparte’s 1798 Egyptian expedition,
and later breakthroughs in deciphering Egyptian
hieroglyphs, fascinated Europeans. The discovery of
King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 created a global
sensation; Cartier immediately responded with
Egyptian-themed jewelry, accessories, and clocks.
Some reflect the forms of Egyptian architecture, while
others use the colorful materials of ancient Egyptian
art: deep blue lapis lazuli, orange coral, and turquoise.
Some even incorporate ancient fragments of carved
stone or faience (a blue or green glassy ceramic
material).

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Egyptian vanity case

Cartier Paris, 1924
Gold, platinum, mother-of-pearl,
Egyptian blue faience, coral,
onyx, lapis lazuli, diamonds,
enamel, and leather

The stocky, bearded Bes was revered in Egypt as a
protective household god. The hieroglyphic inscription
names Pharaoh Thutmose III.

Egyptian striking clock

Cartier Paris, 1927
Gold, silver-gilt, mother-of-pearl,
coral, emerald, cornelian,
enamel, and lapis lazuli

The form of this clock echoes that of an Egyptian temple
gate. The incised and inlaid figures are adapted from
Egyptian murals and inscriptions.

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Large Print Guide

Scarab brooch

Cartier Paris, 1926
Gold, platinum, diamonds,
sapphires, ancient Egyptian
faience scarab, and faience
Private collection

Scarab bracelet

Cartier, Paris, 1926
Platinum, faience, enamel, lapis
lazuli, turquoise, onyx, and
diamonds
Private collection
Both objects were once owned by Linda Lee
Porter, the elegant wife of composer Cole Porter.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Sekhmet brooch

Cartier Paris, special order, 1925
Gold, platinum, blue Egyptian
faience, rubies, emeralds,
diamonds, onyx, and enamel
Sekhmet, the lion-headed Egyptian warrior goddess,
wears a sun disk with a cobra in front.

Egyptian vanity case

Cartier Paris, 1927
Gold, platinum, Egyptian calcite
plaque, diamonds, emeralds,
coral, lapis lazuli, and enamel

The case’s front and back are set with an ancient Egyptian
plaque that has been split in half.

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Large Print Guide

Design source book

The Grammar of Ornament,
by Owen Jones (1865), was
included in the Cartier Paris
library of sourcebooks.

Koran

From the Cartier Paris library
Etoffes de Chine (Chinese
fabrics)

From the Cartier Paris library

Cartier’s designers had on hand an extensive library of
illustrated books on ancient and historic art traditions.
They were also encouraged to visit museums such as
the Louvre to study the works on display. Their sketches
record details and decorative patterns that appealed to
them, as well as concepts for new jewelry and objects.
Often designers combined elements from more than one
artistic tradition (such as the Egyptian/Indian hybrid jewelry
seen in the framed drawings).

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century
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Large Print Guide

East Asia

Asian art, especially Chinese art, became popular in
Paris after World War I. Museums displayed ancient
bronzes and ceramics, and interior designers
adopted Chinese screens and other furniture forms.
The straight silhouettes of Chinese gowns influenced
flapper-style dresses, which were often embroidered
or beaded with Asian motifs, including clouds,
dragons, and chrysanthemums. Cartier’s vanity and
cigarette cases perfectly complemented these outfits.
Luxurious jewelry, clocks, and tabletop items often
incorporated imported Asian carved jades and inlaid
lacquer panels.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Vanity set

Cartier Paris, 1927
Silver, gold, laque burgauté
panels, enamel, coral, obsidian,
and glass
From the collection of Barbra
Streisand

Panels of laque burgauté made in Japan or China
decorate this opulent dresser set. Laque burgauté (literally,
“mother-of-pearl lacquer”) is a technique in which layers
of resin are inlaid with tinted mother-of-pearl. Cartier
purchased Asian furniture and then took it apart to obtain
the laque burgauté plaques used in its own items. The
inlaid scenes show ladies and servants, friendly
gatherings, and moonlit gardens.

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Large Print Guide

Exotic Fantasy

The late 1920s was a scandalous era of avant-garde
art, jazz music, dance crazes, and daring fashions.
The giddy pleasures of the Roaring Twenties came
to an abrupt halt in 1929 when the New York stock
market collapsed, triggering a global economic
depression. Films with escapist plots, screened in
ornate movie palaces, helped the public endure the
grim realities of daily life. The upper class maintained
its spirits with charity events such as London’s 1930
Jewels of Empire Ball, at which ladies wore fantastic
ensembles designed to evoke distant lands.
Responding to the popular mood, Cartier’s designers
freely blended elements from multiple traditions to
create distinctive items including tutti frutti style jewelry
with carved, multicolored stones and “mystery” clocks
made of a wide range of vividly colored materials.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Carp clock with retrograde
hand

Cartier Paris, 1925
Platinum, gold, gray jade,
obsidian, rock crystal,
mother-of-pearl, pearls, coral,
emeralds, diamonds, mauve l
acquer, and enamel
The dragon-shaped hour hand sweeps forward, then
snaps back every twelve hours. Minutes are indicated by a
rotating dial with Arabic numerals and a fixed pointer.

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Large Print Guide

Tutti Frutti strap bracelet

Cartier Paris, 1929
Platinum, diamonds, sapphires,
emeralds, and rubies

Tutti Frutti double clip
brooch

Cartier Paris, special order, 1935
Platinum, osmior, diamonds,
sapphires, rubies, and emeralds
Both objects were once owned by Linda Lee Porter,
glamorous wife of composer Cole Porter.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Mystery clocks

The “mystery” is: how do these clocks work? The face is
made of transparent rock crystal or citrine (golden-colored
quartz) with floating hands that move without any apparent
mechanism. Key to the illusion is the fact that the clock
face is not a solid crystal block, but rather consists of four
sections; the hands are embedded in two movable inner
disks of transparent crystal. Each of these disks has teeth
on its outer edge and is turned by gears in the frame.
These gears are driven in turn by a clock mechanism
hidden in the base. Cartier’s mystery clocks were inspired
by ingenious nineteenth-century French clocks and
automata (mechanical figures that move, and sometimes
sing or play), such as those made by clockmaker and
magician Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin (from whom
Houdini took his stage name).

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Large Print Guide

Chimera mystery clock

Cartier New York, 1926
Gold, platinum, citrine, agate,
nephrite, onyx, coral, diamonds,
pearls, emeralds, and enamel

Cartier’s most elaborate clocks incorporate Chinese jade
or agate carvings from the 1700s or 1800s, embellished
with enamel and colored gemstones and mounted on
colorful, sculptural bases. A chimera is an imaginary
animal, typically with the head of one animal, the body of
another, and the tail of a third. Continuing the fantastical
theme, the platinum-and-diamond hour hand ends in a
dragon head, while the minute hand forms the animal’s
tail. When the hands move, the dragon’s body seems
to writhe.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century
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Large Print Guide

Art of Smoking

At the turn of the twentieth century, tobacco was
consumed largely by men, who chewed it or smoked
it in cigars and pipes. Cigarettes were elegant, new, a
bit adventurous, and associated with romantic foreign
lands such as Spain and Turkey. Women who dared
to smoke in public were considered scandalous, but
growing numbers took up the habit. During World War
I, cigarettes became a comforting reminder of home
for the troops—and a symbol of empowerment for
women. Silent movies and their glamorous stars
popularized smoking still further, and cigarette
smoking became common among both men and
women. Cartier produced exquisite smoking
accessories decorated with both precious metals and
gemstones. Cigarette cases, often inscribed with
personalized messages, were favorite gifts in the first
half of the 1900s.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Cigarette holder with
custom-made case

Cartier Paris, 1912
Platinum, diamonds, sapphires,
amber, and albatross bone
Cigarette holders were an elegant way to avoid
nicotine-stained fingers.

Cigarette and vanity case

Cartier New York, about 1924
Pink gold, platinum, enamel, and
diamonds
Given to fashion designer Coco Chanel by the Duke of
Westminster.

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Large Print Guide

Vanity case

Cartier, about 1920
Gold, platinum, diamonds, lapis
lazuli, tortoiseshell, and enamel
Pierre Cartier Foundation
Given to Marion Cartier (Pierre Cartier’s daughter) by her
uncle Jacques.

Table cigarette box

Cartier Paris, 1925
Silver, gold, laque burgauté
plaques, moonstone, rubies,
sapphires, coral, jade, diamonds,
ebonite, enamel, and wood
The shell-inlaid lacquer lids of this box resemble an Asian
scroll painting stretched between two cylindrical rollers.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century
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Large Print Guide

Masculine View

Men have long purchased Cartier jewelry as gifts
for the women they love, but those with an eye for
quality and design also appreciated owning Cartier
items themselves. Discreet but luxurious jewelry
(visible only to the wearer and to those in close
proximity) and elegantly simple pocket and desk items
express taste and style. Timepieces—in all forms—
are admired for inventiveness, engineering, and
refinement. Cartier-made articles were often presented
to men as tokens of affection, or in recognition of
exceptional achievement. Many of Cartier’s clients
made their mark on the world as rulers, politicians,
business leaders, adventurers and explorers,
sportsmen, authors, artists, musicians, and actors.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Pocket watch with chain
and matchbox

Cartier, about 1910
Gold, enamel, pearls, and
diamonds

Pocket watch

Cartier Paris, 1919
Platinum and diamonds

Éclipse pocket watch
with two dials

Cartier Paris, 1925
Gold

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Large Print Guide

Pocket watch with
transparent back

Cartier New York, 1929
Platinum, gold, rock crystal, and
diamonds

Mystery pocket watch

Cartier Paris, 1931
Platinum, crystal, and enamel

Coin watch

Cartier Paris, 1937
Gold
The case is made from a U.S.
$20 coin.

Cartier developed a specialty in watch and clock making
around 1900, an unusual step for a jewelry house. At once
personal, sophisticated, and functional, Cartier pocket
watches feature cases of precious materials and watch
movements flat enough to fit within the thickness of a coin.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

“Roulette” pocket watch

Cartier London, 1937
Steel
Private collection
The owner of this “gambler’s companion” watch could spin
the wheel to aid in selecting a bet.

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Large Print Guide

Cartier honored pioneering achievements in aviation and
space exploration with scale models and engraved
dedications.

Lunar Excursion Module
(exact replica)

Cartier Paris, 1969
Yellow and white gold, lacquer,
and enamel

After the historic moon landing in 1969, readers of the
newspaper Le Figaro in Paris contributed funds to present
a model of the Apollo 11 lunar lander to each of the
mission’s three American astronauts.

Cigarette case

Cartier Paris, 1912
Silver, green and pink gold, and
sapphire push-piece

The case interior is engraved with the signatures of about

thirty aviation pioneers, including Alberto Santos-Dumont

and Roland Garros.

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Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century

Replica of Charles
Lindbergh’s Wright
Whirlwind engine

Cartier New York, about 1927
Brass, steel, gold, enamel,
mahogany, and mirrored base
Charles Lindbergh made the first solo flight across the
Atlantic Ocean in 1927, in a plane powered by a Wright
Whirlwind motor.

Cigarette case

Cartier New York, about 1928
Gold and enamel

Pierre Cartier presented this case to French aviator
Dieudonné Costes, in honor of the first nonstop flight
across the South Atlantic Ocean, which Costes
completed in 1927.

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