I don’t think I am exaggerating when I say that Cartier was one of the exhibitions of 2025. The first major UK exhibition on Cartier in nearly 30 years, the 2025 V&A exhibition included over 350 pieces from several museum and private collections. Pieces worn by royals around the world and leading figures of society were on display at the Sainsbury Gallery, many for the first time publicly. Today I’m sharing my Cartier at the V&A review, including several of my personal highlights!
My Cartier at the V&A Review
We saw Cartier at the V&A on Friday, 7 November in the morning. Normally I am not that specific about the date but I think that it played a part in our experience.
Before I get into the exhibition itself, I need to talk about the other visitors. V&A members can go free to the paid exhibitions- they have to wait in a line to be admitted but they don’t need to book a ticket to go. There were about 75 people waiting, which was unsurprising given it closed a week later. Compared to the V&A exhibitions I’ve seen in the past earlier in their runs, as well as Marie Antoinette Style on the same day (also earlier in the run), the amount of visitors admitted was… a lot. And it affected everyone.
There were signs at the beginning of the exhibition stating that while many guests queue to see things in the exhibition, you do not have to. I did originally start by queuing but it was moving exceptionally slowly- very few visitors had any consideration for any other guests. (I started popping around to pieces that didn’t have anyone looking, and just saw things out of order.) People were spending five or more minutes in front of the same items, oftentimes having entirely separate discussions that had nothing to do with the exhibition. I’m all for chatting when you are out with friends, but step back so that others can enjoy the exhibition. Normally, I’m not a fan of museum staff controlling exhibitions, but I sadly think it was needed. If you are going to have a jam-packed exhibition of relatively small items, you either need people to think of others or have staff making sure things flow.
Onto the staging….
Cartier Staging
Compared with the 2019 Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition (and Marie Antoinette Style, though I saw it after Cartier), this was not the most creatively staged exhibition. In fairness, most jewellery is relatively small and there are only so many ways to stage brooches, rings, bracelets. Most were mounted in dark cases along the walls- everything was very well light, so you could certainly see it straight-on. I thought the best staging was the Manchester Tiara to open it and the room of tiaras to close the exhibition, as you were able to walk around the pieces and see them from different angles. Overall, it was an excellent exhibition but the staging could have pushed it to the next level.
I will say, I thought including classical music in several rooms and video footage in another was a great staging choice. The V&A knows how to do an exhibition, and it helped set the tone perfectly.
Cartier Highlights
Obviously, the Manchester Tiara at the opening of the exhibition was a fantastic choice. This tiara makes a statement and to stage it by itself for your first view? A great choice. Created for the Dowager Duchess of Manchester in 1903, this tiara was allocated to the V&A in 2007 after it was forfeited in lieu of inheritance tax- I think it is one of the museum’s most incredible pieces, and it was shown perfectly.
I will admit, I did not expect to see a non-Cartier piece in the exhibition but this 1760s bodice ornament was an unexpected and stunning inclusion.
Full transparency- I’m not totally enamoured of the Panthere line. It’s somewhat over the top for me. However, seeing the designs in person, it is incredible to see the massive amount of detail. This bangle is not comparatively massive but it is quite the piece of art.
Royal Jewels in Cartier
I am very impressed with the number of royal pieces in Cartier. While several of the pieces had ended up back with Cartier in a number of ways, there were also several royal items loaned for the exhibition.
The Williamson Brooch has always been one of my favourites. The massive pink diamond was a gift to QEII for her coronation from a Canadian businessman, and I think Cartier did a phenomenal job with it. (This was one of the items that was difficult to see due to chatters…) The Royal Collection Trust thankfully loaned this!
The Princess Royal also made a loan, albeit a personal one- she loaned the Aquamarine Pineflower Tiara for the exhibition. Notably, she took it back from the exhibition for approximately two weeks in September to wear it for a State Banquet but luckily for me, it was returned by the time I was there.
Although she is one of the black sheep of the British Royal Family, the Duchess of Windsor had a longstanding relationship with Cartier. There were several of her pieces in the exhibition, including this pearl necklace. Queen Mary had gifted a strand of pearls to the Duke of Windsor, and they turned to Cartier to create this piece.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester loaned the Indian Tiara– one of the largest tiaras in the current royal family. The tiara draws on several motifs from Islamic design and is set with diamonds, pearls, sapphires, and platinum.
No longer in the Belgian Royal Family’s collection, I was over-the-moon to see Queen Elisabeth’s Bandeau Tiara. The Belgian Queen wore this tiara frequently, including in many portraits.
Did you see Cartier at the V&A?
Cheers,
The Historian
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Thank you, thank you for sharing this magnificent Cartier exhibit. I so wanted to see it in person but sadly could not. I also appreciate your candid description of the missteps of the exhibit. Please continue with your wonderful reporting.
I am glad that you enjoyed the highlights! I find that a lot of people tend to skip over the things that perhaps did not work so well for them, but those are important elements of our experiences. Despite the somewhat inconsiderate people, it was still a fantastic exhibition- tiaras for days!