Cartier's Garland Style Tiara

Louis Joseph Cartier (pictured) was not a model student. In his school report, the eldest grandson of Cartier’s founder had black mark after black mark - more than anyone in his year. He was intelligent, his teachers conceded, but his head was “in the clouds” and he struggled with following the rules. Ironically, it was those very same characteristics that would lead him to revolutionise the entire jewellery industry. By the time the naughty schoolboy was old enough to join the family firm in 1898, art nouveau was all the rage. Louis, not one to follow convention, refused to abide by its strictures. He wanted to shake up the jewellery world, not slavishly follow the trends.

Experimenting with platinum (then principally an industrial metal), he was able to create a lighter more delicate style of jewelry with its roots in 18th century Marie-Antoinette-style glamor. Daringly different from the jewels of the time, Cartier's 'garland-style' tiaras, necklaces and corsage ornaments didn’t take long to become a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic. And the iconoclastic visionary with his head in the clouds was propelled from being criticized by teachers to be being revered by queens. #thecartiersbook #cartierjewellery (p.s. thanks to @wartski1865 for this gorgeous tiara image!)