The exhibition features more than 30 tiaras, necklaces and bracelets, along with pieces associated with Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Andy Warhol, Princess Margaret and Rihanna. Nearly 300 of the items are being displayed in Australia for the first time.
The NGV partnered with London's Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) to present the exhibition. In an interview with ABC News, NGV director Tony Ellwood emphasised its scale and quality.
"It’s really other-worldly to look at the quality and just the ambition of the designers and the wearers," he said.
"We are talking about the finest craftsmanship in the world, alongside some of the most famous people in the world."
NGV senior curator of international exhibitions Miranda Wallace noted that Melbourne-born opera singer Dame Nellie Melba was a Cartier client during the brand’s international expansion in the early 20th century. Wallace cited a 1902 performance at Melbourne Town Hall, where Melba appeared on stage adorned with numerous Cartier jewels.
"She was basically studded with Cartier jewels, a turquoise and diamond necklace, suspended pearls, and those pieces are what we have on display," she said.
"To get an image of what she must have looked like, almost lit up on stage, glittering with these wonderful jewels, is really remarkable."
Cartier was founded in Paris by watchmaker Louis-François Cartier in 1847. His grandsons, Pierre, Louis, and Jacques, took the jewellery brand to London and New York, and King Edward VII described Cartier as the “jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers” in 1904.
The exhibition is open at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne until October.
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