An opulently large-scale and the most blindingly spectacular show ever implemented by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco is now open at the Legion of Honor. The exhibition commemorates 100 years of Cartier brilliantly successful presence in America. It all started with the opening of the Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan, famously bought in 1909 for $100 and a strand of pearls – from the building owner whose wife happened to covet Cartier pearls. The enduring vitality of the jewelry firm was assured in its heyday in Paris by the loyal clientele among European royalty, and later in London and New York by a long-lasting relationship that looked very much like love with the American industrialist and showbiz elite. In the Gilded Age America, Cartier seamlessly switched from creating diamond crowns for European princesses and grand duchesses to producing even more elaborately designed tiaras with even larger stones for the heiresses of tin, coal, tobacco, and cereal fortunes. The firm’s exquisite Art Deco and exotic designs (inspired by China, Japan, India, and ancient Egypt) of between-the-wars period placed Cartier among the iconic names of the 20th century, while mid-century modern influences helped it evolve as a contemporary innovator in the field of time-honored traditions of beauty and luxury. Such unique and never or rarely exhibited before pieces as Grace Kelly’s wedding jewels from 1956, Elizabeth Taylor’s diamond and ruby set from 1951, and Gloria Swanson’s rock crystal and diamond bracelets from 1930 share the gallery space with multiple examples of Cartier Louis XVI-style adornments heavily studded with diamonds set in platinum; humongous carved gems, embedded in diamond-crusted necklaces and brooches, and mystery clocks with bejeweled hands “suspended” in crystal. The show runs through April 18, 2010 at the Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, 34th Avenue and Clement Street, San Francisco. More information at: famsf.org.
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