“A fool would know that with tweeds or other daytime clothes one wears gold, and that with evening clothes one wears platinum,” the Duchess of Windsor once proclaimed and later refuted.
Cartier and America Exhibition, Legion of Honor
Wallis Simpson, 1936, By English Photographer None of the sources name the photographer, they presumably would if he was known. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The Duchess of Windsor’s Cabochon Sapphire Panther by Cartier
The Duchess of Windsor with U.S. President Nixon and the Duke of Windsor, 1970 (Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1643974)
Cartier emerald, diamonds and platinum necklace worn by Countess of Granard, 1932 Photo: Nick Welsh, Cartier Collection © Cartier
Cartier Tutti Frutti Necklace
Cartier and America at the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, through April 18, 2010
The exhibition covers the history of the House of Cartier with a collection of some 200 objects, among them Mrs. Simpson’s panther, pug and flamingo brooches. Private lenders contributed significant pieces to the exhibition, which includes a variety of jewelry forms, from traditional white diamond suites to highly colored exotic creations from the 1920s and 1930s, to the famous Mystery Clocks. Cartier and America marks Cartier’s 100 years in the United States.
