10 Famous Cartier Jewelry Designs

Prepare to be inspired! In this post, we're showcasing the incredible achievements and groundbreaking innovations within the world of 10 Famous Cartier Jewelry Designs, leaving you motivated and eager to embark on your own journey.

First of all, I'll need to introduce y'all about the luxury jewelry brand----CARTIER.

What is CARTIER ? Who is CARTIER ?

Cartier is an esteemed luxury brand that has captivated the world with its exquisite jewelry, watches, and accessories since its establishment in Paris in 1847. Renowned for its impeccable craftsmanship and elegant designs, Cartier has become synonymous with prestige and sophistication. The brand's creations, crafted from the finest materials and adorned with vibrant gemstones, have adorned the wrists and necks of royalty, aristocrats, and celebrities alike. With iconic collections such as the Tank, Santos, and Ballon Bleu, Cartier continues to be a symbol of timeless beauty and artistic excellence, offering discerning customers a range of meticulously crafted pieces that embody both classic heritage and contemporary allure.

Cartier has designed countless iconic and unbelievable accessories. From royal jewels to exotic gems, the elaborate and intricate designs have always impressed the world. Take a look at 10 of the most famous Cartier jewelry pieces from the 19th century.

1. Maria Félix’s Crocodile Necklace

Maria Félix, a renowned Mexican movie superstar and avid fashion enthusiast in the 1940s, commissioned an intricate crocodile necklace from Cartier in 1975. Known for her extensive collection of fine jewelry, including custom pieces from Cartier and the famous Ashoka diamond previously owned by Harry Winston, Félix visited the Cartier store with live crocodiles in a fishbowl, inspiring the designers to create a unique piece. The resulting necklace and brooch hybrid featured two crocodile motifs that elegantly wrapped around the neck and fastened together. One crocodile was adorned with 1,023 yellow diamonds weighing a total of 60.02 carats, while the other showcased 1,060 emeralds with a combined weight of 66.86 carats.

2. Marjorie Merriweather Post’s Art Deco Necklace

Marjorie Merriweather Post, a prominent socialite and the head of Postum Cereal Co., led a luxurious life with multiple residences, including ones in Palm Beach and the Adirondacks, a grand sea-going yacht, and an impressive collection of fine jewelry. Among her prized possessions were the tiara gifted by Napoleon I to his second wife and a pair of diamond earrings once owned by Marie Antoinette. With a shared passion for Russian imperial art, Post developed a strong bond with Pierre Cartier, whom she patronized faithfully. However, when her then-husband became the ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1936, Post opted for a more understated image. In a departure from her usual extravagant jewelry, she approached Cartier to create a necklace using two diamond bracelets and a sapphire brooch that interconnected the bracelets. Although still considered opulent, she would occasionally dismantle the necklace to wear the bracelets separately, offering a more modest option for various occasions.

3. Hutton-Mdivani Jadeite Necklace

This necklace, once owned by the renowned Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton (1912-1979), holds a fascinating story. At the peak of her fame, Hutton's wealth was estimated at $1 billion in today's currency. However, her financial situation drastically changed, and she passed away bankrupt. To settle her debts, Hutton had to sell a significant portion of her jewelry collection, but a few remarkable pieces, including this jadeite necklace, resurfaced at auctions. Barbara Hutton had received this exquisite jadeite necklace from her father as a celebratory gift for her marriage to Prince Mdivani. The necklace consisted of 27 meticulously crafted jadeite beads, which are renowned for their exceptional quality. These beads boast remarkable transparency and a vivid emerald green color. The clasp, adorned with rubies and baguette diamonds, was custom-designed by Cartier at the request of Hutton's father, combining platinum and 18k yellow gold. In 2014, the jadeite necklace achieved an astonishing price of $24.7 million USD when it was acquired by The Cartier Collection at an auction. This remarkable sale not only established a world record for the highest auction price of a jadeite jewel but also set a new record for a Cartier jewel.

4.  Daisy Fellowes’s Tutti Frutti Collier Hindou Necklace

In 1901, Queen Alexandra enlisted Cartier's services to create a necklace with an Indian-inspired design, complementing an Indian gown gifted to her by Mary Curzon, the wife of the Viceroy of India. Inspired by this collaboration and a subsequent journey to India in 1911, Jacques Cartier began incorporating Indian gemstones into his French Art Deco jewelry, utilizing them in unique settings. This innovation led to the introduction of a captivating collection of bracelets and brooches, where the gemstones were skillfully cut to resemble leaves, blossoms, and berries. Eventually, in the 1970s, this collection was affectionately named the Tutti Frutti Collection.

Among the remarkable pieces in the Tutti Frutti collection, the most striking item belonged to Daisy Fellowes, the heiress to the Singer sewing machine fortune. In 1936, this influential socialite commissioned the renowned Collier Hindou. This extraordinary necklace showcases a mesmerizing combination of emeralds, rubies, 13 sapphires, and diamonds, with a total carat weight of 146.9 carats. Additionally, it features two leaf-shaped sapphires, weighing 50.8 and 42.45 carats respectively. Presently, the Collier Hindou is owned by The Cartier Collection and is an integral part of a traveling museum exhibition, captivating audiences with its exceptional beauty and historical significance.

5. Grace Kelly Engagement Ring

When Prince Rainer III of Monaco proposed to the esteemed actress Grace Kelly, he presented her with an engagement ring adorned with rubies and emeralds. However, Kelly later opted for a more fashionable choice and upgraded to a remarkable diamond engagement ring from Cartier. The new ring featured an impressive 10.47 carat emerald-cut diamond as its centerpiece, enhanced further by the addition of two baguette diamonds on either side.

Following their engagement, Kelly cherished the diamond ring and never took it off her finger. She was so attached to the ring that she even insisted on wearing it while portraying her character, Tracy Samantha Lord, in the film "High Society." This iconic film marked Kelly's final appearance on the silver screen and included a memorable scene where Kelly, in the role of Tracy, lovingly polishes her exquisite diamond ring using the corner of a bed sheet.

6. Duchess of Windsor’s Amethyst Bib Necklace

In 1947, Wallis Simpson, the famous American divorcée who prompted King Edward VIII to abdicate his throne, commissioned this intricate necklace. Known for their extensive collection of jewelry, the couple had amassed what is considered the most remarkable private jewelry collection in history, which included this exquisite bib-style amethyst necklace. With the exception of the turquoise, the stones used in the necklace were provided by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The necklace featured diamonds, 27 step-cut amethysts, and a prominent heart-shaped amethyst stone. Cartier expertly set these gemstones into a gold chain resembling a rope-like design. Notably, the Duchess of Windsor wore this iconic necklace with a strapless gown during a gala held in Versailles, France, in 1953. Following the Duchess's passing in 1986, the amethyst Cartier necklace was sold at auction for a remarkable price of $605,000 USD, further highlighting its significance and allure.

7. Sapphire Panthere Brooch

Since its introduction in 1914, the panther motif has remained a prominent element in Cartier's designs. Initially presented as an abstract representation influenced by Art Deco style, the panther evolved in the 1940s to adopt a more intricate and three-dimensional form within Cartier's jewelry creations. Among the avid admirers of Cartier's panther-inspired pieces was Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor.

Within Simpson's remarkable collection, a standout piece is the Cartier Panthere Sapphire Brooch, crafted in 1949. This exquisite brooch showcases a rare and perfectly round 152.35 carat cabochon star sapphire as its centerpiece. Positioned above the sapphire, a Cartier panther rests gracefully, with its fur beautifully adorned by diamonds, its spots embellished with sapphires, and its eyes captivatingly fashioned from two pear-cut yellow diamonds. The Cartier Panthere Sapphire Brooch stands as a testament to the captivating artistry and attention to detail that define Cartier's panther-inspired jewelry.

8. The Cartier Royal Pearl

In nature, large pearls are incredibly rare, with an estimated ratio of only one pearl found for every 10,000 harvested oysters. This exceptional rarity is further emphasized by the Cartier Royal Pearl, a truly remarkable gem. The Royal Pearl possesses a flawless and perfectly symmetrical drop shape, boasting an astonishing weight of 166.18 grains.

Originally owned by Queen Mary, the grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II, the Royal Pearl has traversed several generations of royalty, including Princess Mary and her son George. Recently, Cartier transformed the pearl into a versatile piece, fashioning it into a necklace that can also be worn as a tiara, thanks to a cleverly concealed hinge within the design. The tiara-necklace setting, with the Royal Pearl as its centerpiece, incorporates natural pearls and diamonds, including a significant cushion-cut diamond weighing 5.01 carats. Furthermore, the Cartier Royal Pearl can be detached from its setting, allowing it to be worn as a pendant, showcasing its beauty in a different form.

9. The Reine Makeda Necklace

The exquisite Reine Makeda choker necklace, a masterpiece of couture design, was meticulously crafted to showcase its captivating centerpiece—a magnificent 15-carat oval-shaped ruby sourced from Mozambique. Set in platinum and adorned with a surrounding array of sparkling diamonds, this striking necklace demanded an impressive 3,320 hours of meticulous work by Cartier's highly skilled artisans. Designed to gracefully drape around the neck, the Reine Makeda necklace stands as a testament to the exceptional craftsmanship synonymous with the esteemed house of Cartier.

10.Cartier’s Patiala Necklace

Crafted by Cartier in 1928, the Patiala Necklace was specially commissioned by and named after Bhupindra Singh of Patiala, the esteemed Maharaja of Patiala in India. This magnificent necklace boasted an astonishing array of 2,930 diamonds, ranging from 18 to 73 carats in size, along with several exquisite Burmese rubies. Its centerpiece was none other than the world's seventh-largest diamond known as the "De Beers" diamond, weighing an extraordinary 236.65 carats.

Regrettably, the necklace mysteriously disappeared in 1948. However, the remarkable De Beers diamond made a separate appearance in 1982 at a Sotheby's auction, where it was sold for an impressive $3.16 million. Then, in 1998, a remarkable turn of events occurred when the necklace was rediscovered at a second-hand jewelry shop in London. Although the rubies and diamonds were missing, the house of Cartier acquired the remaining components and embarked on a four-year journey to restore the necklace to its original splendor. Using cubic zirconia, synthetic diamonds, and a replica of the original De Beers diamond, the necklace was meticulously recreated to resemble the iconic Patiala Necklace once again.

These are all 10 famous cartier jewelry design that I want to shared to y'all. I hope this sharing will help you get to know them better.

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This is all about the jewelry sharing session.

I hope this article can help all fashion newbies. Here is a teaser, the next article is about a list of some haute couture 2023.

See y'all next week !!!!