1093
Cartier brooch «Tutti Frutti» with sapphires, rubies, emeralds and diamonds
London after 1924. Yellow gold 18k (tested) and platinum (tested). Front set with a bee-shaped carved sapphire weighing approx. 5,10 carats, surrounded in the shape of a blossom by six ruby beads weighing in total approx. 6 carats, two emerald beads weighing in total approx. 0,20 carats, one sapphire bead weighing approx. 0,15 carats as well as accompanied by a leaf-cut carved emerald weighing approx. 1,50 carats. The centre of the blossom, the pedicel and each gemstone bead set with 26 old-european-cut diamonds weighing in total approx. 0,70 carats VVS-VS, wesselton. Below three diamond baguettes weighing in total approx. 0,15 carats VVS, wesselton. Engraved maker's mark and inscribed «1909/E/D/-» twice.
H 2,2, W 3,0 cm. 9,3 g. Original box.
«Tutti Frutti» - a noble expression for fruit salad - represents the colourful coloured stone creations that Cartier created in different variations from 1924 to the end of the 1930s. Founded in Paris in 1889, the jeweller was inspired by engraved gemstones that they had come across in India in the 1920s. One can almost speak of a cultural exchange, for while Cartier was setting magnificent gemstone jewellery for numerous Indian maharajas in the fashionable Art Deco style, they were also importing the art of stone engraving in combination with Mughal style forms from India. On necklaces, bracelets, brooches, earrings, but also decorative objects, sculpturally cut stones were now used in floral compositions.
The success that the «Tutti Frutti» style enjoyed in the Roaring Twenties is shown by orders from the most discerning jewellery collectors and fashion icons such as Mrs Cole Porter, Daisy Fellowes or Mrs W.K. Vanderbilt.
While the term «Tutti Frutti» only became established in the 1970s, the works, classically based on a selection of rubies, sapphires and emeralds, were originally simply referred to as «pierres de couleur» (coloured stones) or «multigem» (with several precious stones). Cartier, which in addition to its Parisian headquarters in the Rue de la Paix had already opened branches in London in 1902 and in New York in 1909, that produced independent creations within the framework of the jewellery lines of the house, succeeded in shaping a unique Cartier style that is unmistakable to this day through a balance of colour combinations combined with a touch of exoticism.
We would like to thank the Cartier Client Relations Centre, for the kind remarks via E-Mail, based on photos, 12.09.2022.
Literature: Judy Rudoe, Cartier 1900 - 1939, London 1997, p. 226f. (cf.); Cartier, Innovation through the 20th century, exhibition catalogue Kreml 25.05. - 25.08.2007, Paris 2007, p. 166f. (cf.).

Condition report