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The Cartier Collection: Jewelry
By
Eric Nussbaum & Francois Chaille
Cartier is a name synonymous with fine jewelry. Since the 1970s, the house of Cartier has been collecting the great pieces produced in its workshops, constituting the largest collection of its kind in the world. Housed today in Geneva, the Cartier collection comprises more than 1200 pieces, dating from the 1860s to the present day. This volume opens with a vivid account of the creation of the collection, and the important role played by its curator Eric Nussbaum, who passed away while this book was in production. The introduction describes not only the difficulty involved in finding and acquiring some of the collection's masterpieces, but also the originality and artistic genius which made Cartier one of the world's premier jewelers. The Cartier Collection: Jewelry is devoted to haute joaillerie, presenting and discussing in detail the extraordinary pieces belonging to such discerning collectors as the Duchess of Windsor, Daisy Fellowes, Barbara Hutton, and the recently acquired and restored necklace of Sir Bhupindra Singh, the Maharadjah of Patiala that once contained the famous De Beers diamond. The final chapter focuses on pieces from Cartier's famous "bestiary" of panthers, dragons, chimaera, birds, and crocodiles as well as rare brooches, necklaces and bracelets from the 1960s and 1970s sought by museums and collectors around the world.
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