The V&A traced how Cartier became the jeweller of kings through more than 350 objects, from the Williamson pink diamond brooch to the Crash watch.
The V&A gave Cartier, the French jeweller, an exhibition at V&A South Kensington from Saturday 12 April to Sunday 16 November 2025. It showed more than 350 jewels, gemstones, watches and clocks.
Louis-François Cartier established the family business in Paris in 1847. His grandsons Louis, Pierre and Jacques expanded it through original design and branches in Paris, London and New York.
A clientele of royalty and aristocracy earned the house its name as the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers. Figures from film, music and fashion later became devoted to it.
The show ran in three sections: the creativity behind the Cartier style, the materials and techniques, and the house’s reinvention of its own image.
The Williamson Diamond brooch, lent by His Majesty The King, was commissioned from Cartier London in 1953 and carries the 23.6 carat pink Williamson diamond. Nearby hung a 1938 rose clip brooch that Princess Margaret wore at her sister’s coronation.
The materials section held the 101-carat yellow Allnatt diamond brooch and the Tutti Frutti Mountbatten bandeau of 1928. The Santos of 1904, the first modern wristwatch designed for a man, appeared with the Crash of 1967.