Cartier ─ Innovation Through the 20th Century

Cartier epitomizes creativity and individuality in jewelry design. The 175 objects featured in this book exemplify Cartier’s inimitable talent and represent milestones in twentieth-century design. These archetypes of excellence are important benchmarks in the history of world jewelry, and their relevance continues into the twenty-first century. The jeweled objects in this book are reproduced at actual size, and are accompanied by illustrations and detailed descriptions from Cartier’s vast archives in London, New York, and Paris. Six essays cover a broad range of topics from Cartier’s colorful history, including the influence of the Ballets Russes on Cartier’s forward-looking designs of 1910, the jeweler’s extraordinary technical and design prowess, and the important clients and collectors who wore Cartier’s most exquisite creations. This book features ingenious pieces that reveal how Cartier—by setting new aesthetic, ornamental, technical, and stylistic trends—is a pioneer in the field of jewelry design. This catalog is an important reference for collectors, and includes previously unpublished photographs.

Francois Chaille, writer, art historian, and fashion expert, has written several titles published by Flammarion, including The Book of Ties (1994), Cartier: Creative Writing (2000), The Little Book of Ties (2001), Girard-Perregaux (2005), The Cartier Collection: Jewelry (2005), and The Cartier Collection: Timepieces (2006).