Earlier this year, the National Gallery of Victoria launched a major Cartier exhibition, featuring nearly 400 pieces from the storied French brand.
Nearly 300 items are being displayed in Australia for the first time, with the exhibition beginning in June and closing on 4 October. National Gallery of Victoria director Tony Ellwood said that for anyone planning to go but who has not yet made the trip, it was an opportunity not to be missed.
“We are delighted that more than 200,000 people have visited this extraordinary exhibition,” Ellwood said.
“With only a few weeks left until it closes, we encourage visitors to come and see this Australian exclusive exhibition that features incredible loans from around the globe.”
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.
Earlier this year, senior curator Amanda Dunsmore wrote a piece for Jeweller detailing the inspiration on offer for aspiring designers and manufacturers.
“A unique feature is also the rich selection of archival material, including design drawings, sketchbooks, plaster casts, photographs, and other documentary materials that provide a fascinating insight into the making and inspiration behind these jewels,” she wrote.
“It's these sketchbooks, working drawings and design studies that may prove the exhibition's greatest reward for today's jewellers, revealing not just the finished masterpieces, but the creative process behind them.”
Louis-François Cartier founded Cartier in Paris in 1847. His grandsons, Pierre, Louis, and Jacques, took the brand to London and New York, with King Edward VII once famously describing Cartier as the “jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers.”
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