The Cartier Collection: Jewelry

This lavish two-volume slipcased work is a publishing event for the quality of its design, full-size reproductions, extensive documentation, and illustrated chronology and index.
 
With more than 3,000 pieces dating from the 1860s to the present, the Cartier Collection constitutes the world’s largest collection of its kind. This luxury work traces the history of the collection’s high jewelry holdings and attests to the originality and artistic genius that made Cartier a world-class jeweler. The two-volume set showcases the extraordinary pieces from collectors such as Queen Elizabeth, the Duchess of Windsor, Daisy Fellowes, Barbara Hutton, and Sir Bhupinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala, highlighting Cartier’s mastery of the jeweler’s art through highly original designs, unique colors, and legendary precious stones. More than 600 objects and drawings from Cartier’s vast archives, some previously unseen, are reproduced at actual size and include Cartier’s famous “bestiary” of exotic animals as well as more recent rare brooches, necklaces, and bracelets from the 1960s and 1970s.

François Chaille wrote Cartier: Creative Writing, the three volumes of The Cartier Collection (Jewelry, Timepieces, and Precious Objects), and Audemars Piguet: Master Watchmaker Since 1875. Michael Spink specializes in Islamic and Indian art, jewelry, and metalwork. He co-authored Beyond Extravagance on Mughal jewelery. Art historian Christophe Vachaudez specializes in royal European jewelry and co-authored Royal Jewels: From Charlemagne to the Romanovs. Thierry Coudert wrote Café Society: Socialites, Patrons, and Artists 1920–1960 and Beautiful People of the Café Society: Scrapbooks by the Baron de Cabrol, and contributed to Cartier 1899–1949: The Journey of a Style. Violette Petit is head of the Cartier Paris Archives. Pascale Lepeu is curator of the Cartier Collection. Pierre Rainero is director of Cartier Heritage.