Backstage image of a Chaumet tiara being fitted on a model

Tiaras are the cult jewel of maison Chaumet, and their latest exhibition ‘Chaumet in Majesty’ at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco offers a rare insight into the iconic jewel’s history

Since 1780 Chaumet has been the jeweller to sovereigns. This latest exhibition at Grimaldi Forum recounts the lives of the brand’s royal customers and delves into the history of the jewels themselves, highlighting tiaras as symbolic of timeless feminine power.

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Portrait of Edwina, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, last Vicereine of India, wearing her Chaumet tiara for George VI’s coronation. Photographie de Yevonde, 1937. © Madame Yevonde/Mary Evans Picture Library

As Chaumet demonstrates, a tiara is not just a decorative jewel, but one which has an important functionality, specifically designed to imbue its wearer with virtuous qualities and authority. For example, The Briar Rose Bud tiara (1922) features fauna motif referring back to the power and prestige of classical laurel wreaths whilst the material qualities of the pearls evoke wisdom and diamonds are traditionally associated with timeless elegance and strength. The Pearl and Mircomosaic Parer (1811) also projects an image of its imperial court. The tiara depicts scenes of Roman landscapes through mosaic techniques to lend the piece and its wearer an air of romanticism and grandeur.

‘Chaumet in Majesty’ exhibition at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco: displaying the tiara with florets of Edwina Countess Mountbatten of Burma, last Vice-Queen of India created by Marcel Chaumet (1886-1964) in 1934 in the workshop of Maison Chaumet. The tiara was entrusted to another Maison who sold it to Lady Edwina Mountbatten. Private collection

Read more: Why we love Cartier’s high jewellery collection ‘Magnitude’

The exhibition brings together 250 pieces of jewellery, some of which are being seen publicly for the first time, sourced from the collections of Prince Albert II of Monaco, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and museum collections from all over the world. In the exhibition we see the heritage of the maison’s forms and the quality and beauty of their pieces, but more importantly, we can begin to appreciate jewellery’s role in signifying women’s power throughout the ages.

‘Chaumet in Majesty’ runs until 28 August 2019 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. For more information visit: chaumet.com 

Rosie Ellison-Balaam

The Équinoxe necklace with an octagonal yellow sapphire at the centre

Move over minimalism, Cartier’s latest high jewellery collection is an adventurous exploration of magnified dimensions

Magnitude by Cartier is as much a statement of size as the collection’s name suggests. At the centre of each piece sits a remarkably large stone in its original form, showcasing unconventional, semi-precious crystals alongside more traditional jewels and diamonds.

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The most striking example of this adventurous new design approach for the French maison is the Zemia cuff bracelet, featuring an immense 77.27-carat matrix opal circled by violet sapphires, spessartite garnets, and brilliant-cut diamonds. The 68.85-carat rutilated quartz of the Aphélie necklace possesses similarly impressive proportions, set in a pink gold pendant with cascading morganite beads, orange and white diamonds, and flashes of coral and onyx.

Model wearing the Zemia cuff bracelet from Cartier’s Magnitude collection

The Aphélie necklace

Whilst working with a variety of sizeable and seemingly unrefined stones, the collection retains the subtlety and elegance of the wider Cartier portfolio in the smaller, surrounding details of contrasting yet complementary colours and textures. For example, electric blue beads of lapis lazuli are interlaced in an openwork constellation design of the Équinoxe necklace with an octagonal yellow sapphire at the heart.

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An overall talismanic effect is achieved through the earthy tones and natural aesthetic of the rudimentary colouring of each centrepiece, reminiscent of Cartier’s earlier work with ornamental stones in decorative objects during the Art Deco period.

Chloe Frost-Smith

For more information visit: cartier.co.uk