Raw Potential

Hundreds of objects from more than a century of jewellery and watch design are now on view at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London till November 2025. These are the few you can’t miss.

-  Justin Fenner

ASIF KHAN, THE AWARD-WINNING architect who designed Cartier's new exhibition at London's Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum, had an emotional response when trying on La Patiala—one of the necklaces on display.

Made for an Indian ruler in 1928, it's lavishly set with more than 960 carats of diamonds. But Khan wasn't thinking about its worth.

"I was thinking, who would have been alive at the time from my family (when it was made)?" he says. "That their great-grandson would be wearing the jewels of a maharaja—I don't think anyone would have imagined it."

Forging such a connection between visitors to the show and the over 350 items in it wasn't easy. Khan partnered with experts Helen Molesworth, the V&A's senior curator of jewellery, and Rachel Garrahan to show how brothers Louis, Pierre, and Jacques Cartier turned the family business into a globally recognised brand. "That they are still a household name today has a lot to do with the creative vision they put in place," Garrahan says. Here, she pinpoints the pieces that exemplify their enduring ethos.

Aquamarine and diamond tiara, 1937

The coronation of King George VI inspired an unprecedented number of tiara orders in 1937. "Tiaras had already gone out of fashion in Paris and New York at this stage, but in London, they were still a requirement of court dress," Garrahan says. This example's bold art deco shapes are emblematic of the UK branch's style. Its gems are also representative of another facet of the postGreat Depression era. "Using a semiprecious stone, like aquamarine, was so fashionable at the time," she says.