Cartier

Cartier V&A South Kensington

The Sainsbury Gallery

12 April 2025 – 16 November 2025 

The V&A are to open the first major exhibition in almost 30 years dedicated to Cartier jewels and watches featuring pieces worn by Queen Elizabeth II and Rihanna

Opening in April 2025, the V&A will stage the UK’s first major exhibition in almost 30 years dedicated to Cartier jewels and watches, exploring how the Maison became an unparalleled force in the jewellery and watch world. 

Image Credit: Brooch, Cartier London, 1933. Amethyst, sapphires, diamonds and platinum. Vincent Wulveryck, Collection Cartier © Cartier

Featuring more than 350 objects, the exhibition will chart the evolution of the house’s legacy of art, design and craftsmanship since the turn of the 20th century. It was at that point that the three grandsons of founder Louis-François set out to create the first globally recognised jewellery house, establishing branches in Paris, London and New York. With an enviable client list of royalty and aristocracy, Cartier became known as ‘the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers’ and later broadened its appeal thanks to the devotion of leading creatives from the worlds of cinema, music and fashion.

Image Credit: Rose clip brooch, Cartier London, 1938. Diamonds and platinum. Vincent Wulveryck, Collection Cartier © Cartier

The exhibition will include precious jewels and showstopping objects, historic gemstones, iconic watches and clocks from the V&A and Cartier Collection, as well as previously unseen drawings from the V&A and Cartier archives, together with works lent by His Majesty The King from the Royal Collection, major UK and international museums, and private collections.

Image Credit: Late Art Deco period brooch. Cartier London, commissioned by Cartier London salesman Ernest Schwaiger for his wife, actor Adele Dixon, 1940. Diamonds and platinum © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Highlights will include the Williamson Diamond brooch commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 featuring the rare 23.6 carat pink Williamson diamond; the Scroll Tiara commissioned in 1902 and worn to the coronation of Elizabeth II, and by Rihanna on the cover of W magazine in 2016; a rose clip brooch (1938) worn by Princess Margaret at her sister’s coronation; Grace Kelly’s engagement ring (1956), from the Monaco Princely Palace Collection, that she wore in her final film High Society (1956); an amethyst and sapphire brooch made by Cartier London (c.1933) for Jacques Cartier’s wife Nelly; Mexican film star María Félix’s exceptional snake necklace (1968); the majestic Manchester Tiara from the V&A collection, made in 1903 for the Dowager Duchess of Manchester; a collection of panther jewels, one of the House’s most enduring and instantly recognisable symbols, including a bracelet of pavé diamonds flecked with onyx (1978); and a selection of Cartier timepieces that embody its unique and pioneering approach to watchmaking, including the Crash wristwatch, designed by Cartier London (1967).

Image Credit: Patiala Necklace, Cartier Paris, special order, 1928 (restored 1999–2002). Commissioned by Bhupinder Singh, Maharajah of Patiala. Diamonds, yellow and white zirconia, topaz, synthetic rubies, smoky quartz, citrine set in platinum. Vincent Wulveryck, Collection Cartier © Cartier

Image Credit:  Mountbatten Bandeau in Tutti Frutti style, English Art Works for Cartier London, 1928. Emeralds, rubies, sapphires, diamonds and platinum © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Image Credit: Scarab Brooch, Cartier London, 1925. Blue-glazed Egyptian faience with rubies, emeralds, citrine, diamonds, onyx, platinum and gold. Nils Herrmann, Collection Cartier © Cartier

Exhibition curators Helen Molesworth and Rachel Garrahan, said: 

“Cartier is one of the most famous jewellery houses in the world.

This exhibition will explore how Louis, Pierre and Jacques Cartier, together with their father Alfred, adopted a strategy of original design, exceptional craftmanship and international expansion that transformed the Parisian family jeweller into a household name.

With its world-class jewellery collection, the V&A is the perfect stage to celebrate the pioneering achievements of Cartier and its transformative ability to remain at the centre of culture and creativity for more than a century.

We are excited to be able to share with visitors some of Cartier’s most famous creations as well as revealing previously unseen objects and archive material that further enriches our understanding of a jewellery house that continues to influence the way we adorn ourselves today.”

Across three main sections the exhibition will explore the creativity of Cartier and the emergence of its signature style, the legacy of its technical ingenuity and craftsmanship, as well as its sophisticated approach to image-making and maintaining its legacy and relevance in a changing world. The exhibition will cast a light on the history of Cartier London and will culminate in a spectacular display of tiaras.

Image Credit: Tiara, Cartier London, 1937. Aquamarine, diamonds and platinum. Vincent Wulveryck, Collection Cartier © Cartier

About the Cartier Collection 

In the 1970s, Cartier began to gather together pieces that had been produced in its earlier years; jewelry, timepieces and other precious accessories were thus collected for conservation, leading to the foundation of the Cartier Collection in 1983.

Today, the Cartier Collection includes pieces dating from as early as the 1860s until as late as the 2000s. These pieces act as material records of Cartier’s over 170-year history of style and creativity and also provide a wider historical account of evolutions within the decorative arts as well as in society since the end of the 19th century.

With approximately 3,500 pieces and still growing, the Cartier Collection has sparked the attention of museums worldwide. Since the first major exhibition in 1989 at the Petit Palais in Paris, the Cartier Collection has been showcased by some of the world’s most renowned institutions in 43 monographic exhibitions. Cartier is the third monographic exhibition dedicated to Cartier in the UK, after Cartier, 1900-1939 at the British Museum in 1998 and Cartier in Motion curated by Norman Foster at the Design Museum in 2017.

The Cartier Collection is currently on view in Cartier, The Power of Magic at Shanghai Museum East until Feb 17th, 2025.

Cartier V&A South Kensington
The Sainsbury Gallery
12 April 2025 – 16 November 2025 
Tickets are available at vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/cartier