Cartier Brand Fan

"Collection Art de Cartier" in Milan curated by International Architect Ettore Sottsass Showcased Divine Art Deco Cartier Pieces

At the "Collection Art de Cartier" exhibit in Milan's Palazzo Reale, curated by international architect and designer Ettore Sottsass - VogueGoiello.net covered the highlights of the 209 pieces covering 150 years of the design house. He selected jewelry, watches, time pieces, lipstick holders, diamond and coral compacts, and other accessories.

It's difficult to separate Cartier from its galaxy of glittery owners, like Daisy Fellowes, the Singer sewing machine heiress, to throne interloper (but at least she had divine taste in jewelry) Wallis Simpson.

From Cartier's trademark garland style to classic Art Deco - such as this platinum, gold, diamond and enamel belt buckle from Paris, 1930 - this show covered most of the important design motifs of the last century, all executed with that special Cartier flair:

• oriental
• floral
• animal

First up, one of my personal faves, the Daisy Fellowes's Tutti Frutti necklace from 1936 - which she had made for her as a pick-me-up when she was forced to sell her oceangoing yacht during the height of the Great Depression.

• A gold, cabochon amethyst and citrine Menottes bracelet, Paris, 1939
• A stunning platinum, peridot and diamond necklace and bracelet from London, 1936
• Platinum, aquamarine and diamond tiara, London, 1937

After he was invited to curate the exhibit, Sottsass was so visually overwhelmed when confronted with a table overflowing with glittery Cartier objets, he likened it to being overtaken by a hoard of butterflies, and wanting to flee. To avoid any feeling of clutter, he had the items displayed so viewers could really focus on each object.

A King With an Eye for Bling - the Cartier Patiala Necklace Commissioned by Maharaja Sir Bhupinder Singh in the 1920s Contained Rare Burmese Rubies & Almost 1000 carats of Diamonds, Including the 7th Largest Stone Ever from DeBeers

Maybe I won't come back as a wealthy, jewelry-obsessed heiress, but an uber-weathy, jewelry-obsessed Maharaja. Like the Maharaja of Patiala.

The Patiala necklace, created by Cartier in 1928 for Maharaja Sir Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, was some of the priciest jewelry ever commissioned. From the Maharaja to Amarinder Singh, today's chief minister of Punjab, this is a royal family who knows how to look the part.

In an article in SiliconIndia.com, they point out the following about the Patiala necklace:

• It contained five rows of Art Deco style platinum chains...all completely covered in 1000 carats of ice - 2930 diamonds
• The showpiece was the world's 7th largest diamond - a 234 carat DeBeers rock
• It took Cartier three years to make
• In 1948, it mysteriously disappeared from the royal family's treasury & was only recovered 50 years later, in 1998, by Cartier's Eric Nussbaum, with just the chains and some of the original stones remaining. Missing were the rare Burmese rubies and the massive DeBeers diamond.

After buying it, Cartier restored the piece to its original state using synthetic replacement stones until appropriate natural replacements can be found. Says the ever-hopeful Nussbaum in a Robb Report Luxury Portal.com article: "I'm very confident that one day it will be exactly as it was in 1928. This is my aim."

Cartier Tutti Frutti Necklace - It Flirts & Charms Just Like it Did the Singer Sewing Heiress Who Originally Bought It - Almost a Century Later

Daisy Fellowes was a chick who knew how to treat herself.

Depressed she had to put her oceangoing yacht on the market, the Singer Sewing Machine heiress needed a pick-me-up...from, you guessed it, Cartier of course. 

The little bauble she choose was, shall we say, a little extravagant for the times....1936 & right in the middle of the Great Depression. Nonetheless, her necklace dripped with emerald, sapphire and ruby beads, leaves fashioned from engraved rubies and sapphires, and a passel of briolette-shaped sapphires - resembling hard candies. Yum. It was quickly christened the Tutti Frutti.

This awesome article in Departures.com goes on to point out that Daisy sparked the Art Deco jewelry mania. And even today, many years later, it still calls my name - and loudly! According to Gary Schuler, senior vice president of fine jewelry at Sotheby's, "Cartier produced the most innovative jewels of the period from 1890s to the 1940s...Their Art Deco pieces, in particular, have a timeless quality, a simplicity, and an elegance that is quite modern."

So how much for some Tutti Frutti fabulousness - complete with delightful clinking sounds when you dance, throw back your head and flirt oh-so-charmingly? One like Daisy's sold for over $2 million in '91.

Nice.

(Portrait of Daisy Fellowes by Cecil Beaton in 1920s - from the National Portrait Gallery in the UK:  npg.org.uk)