Featuring nearly 400 extraordinary jewels, timepieces and precious objects, alongside rare archival materials including original design drawings, sketchbooks, photographs and more, the 2026 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces presentation, CARTIER, is the largest exhibition on the global jewellery house ever staged in Australia.
“Cartier are world-renowned for their excellence in jewellery and timepiece design and innovation – a reputation fostered by the three entrepreneurial brothers Pierre, Louis and Jacques Cartier,” said Tony Ellwood AM, Director, NGV.
“This exhibition tells the story of how they transformed their grandfather’s jewellery business into one of the most prestigious international jewellery houses with a clientele including royalty, high society and movie stars.”
Direct from London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, this adapted and expanded presentation of CARTIER is exclusive to Melbourne and features nearly 300 works never-before-seen in Australia, exploring Cartier’s unparalleled reputation for design excellence, craftsmanship and technical innovation
The exhibition features a dazzling selection of Cartier creations owned and worn by the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Rihanna, Andy Warhol, Princess Margaret, The Duchess of Windsor, Dame Nellie Melba, the Maharaja of Patiala, the Begum Aga Khan III, and heiresses including Daisy Fellowes and Barbara Hutton.
The exhibition charts the evolution and artistic legacy of the maison, including its transformation at the turn of the twentieth century by brothers Louis, Pierre and Jacques Cartier, grandsons of the house’s founder Louis François Cartier. The brothers established branches in Paris, London and New York, creating the first internationally recognised jewellery maison, and honed Cartier’s inimitable style by bringing design and manufacturing in-house.
With an illustrious client list of royalty and aristocracy, Cartier was described as ‘the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers’ and were granted their first Royal Warrant by Britain’s King Edward VII in 1904. Cartier’s reputation later broadened thanks to the devotion of leading creatives from the worlds of cinema, music and fashion.
The exhibition features show-stopping works from the V&A and Cartier Collection, as well as key international loans from British Museum, Qatar Museums, Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris, Collections of HSH the Prince of Monaco, Al Thani Collection and private lenders. The exhibition features a wealth of archival material drawn from the Cartier Archives in Paris, London and New York.
“Cartier is one of the most famous jewellery houses in the world. This exhibition will explore how Louis, Pierre and Jacques Cartier, initiated a strategy of original design, exceptional craftmanship and international expansion that transformed the Parisian family jeweller into an international household name,” said Helen Molesworth, Senior Curator of Jewellery, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and lead curator of CARTIER.
“The V&A is delighted to tour its Cartier exhibition which celebrates the pioneering achievements of Cartier and its transformative ability to remain at the centre of culture and creativity for more than a century. We are excited to be able to share with visitors of the NGV some of Cartier’s most famous creations as well as revealing previously unseen objects that further enrich our understanding of a jewellery house that continues to influence the way we adorn ourselves today.”
Among the exhibition’s most arresting highlights is a collection of more than 30 magnificent tiaras, including a spectacular display of 24 tiaras displayed in the final gallery. Tiaras, a timeless symbol of royalty, glamour and artistry, represent the pinnacle of the jeweller’s art, and some of Cartier’s most celebrated creations.
With symbolic links to the laurel wreaths of classical antiquity and celestial halos, the tiara has been worn for centuries across cultures from Asia to Europe. The show-stopping display includes Cartier’s celebrated Scroll tiara (1902), crafted in the house’s signature ‘Garland style’ and worn by Lady Clementine Churchill at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and by Rihanna on the cover of W magazine in 2016.
The exhibition also opens with one of the largest tiaras in the exhibition, the Manchester tiara, commissioned in 1903 by the ‘dollar princess’ Consuelo Montagu, Dowager Duchess of Manchester who supplied all the diamonds herself.
The exhibition will also mark the first time in decades that two turquoise and diamond tiaras, worn by famed sisters Lady Nancy Astor and Lady Phyllis Brand, will be presented together. Born Nancy and Phyllis Langhorne in Virginia, USA, these glamorous sisters became central members of London’s elite political and social circles from the 1910s to the 1930s.
Other tiara highlights include the Sun tiara of 1907 with a 32-carat fancy intense yellow diamond in its centre; and the Art Deco diamond and platinum Halo tiara of 1934, which was inspired by ancient Egypt and owned by Her Highness the Begum Aga Khan III.
The exhibition includes a 1951 necklace gifted to Elizabeth Taylor by her third husband, film producer Mike Todd, while on holiday in the French Riviera in 1957. The necklace features a geometric latticework design of diamonds that showcase seven Burmese rubies, exceptional for their size and matching colour. Taylor herself described the necklace as ‘like the sun – lit up and made of red fire.’
The exhibition also features the many Cartier jewels owned by Grace Kelly following her marriage to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, on loan from the collections of H.S.H. the Prince of Monaco. They include a multi-strand pearl and coral necklace (1958) and a 1960 gold and pearl poodle brooch, recalling her pet poodle Oliver.
The exhibition also focuses on Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, who was an important early client of Cartier when the firm was becoming known internationally for its Garland Style jewels, often featuring floral swags and bows set in platinum and precious gems. The show also features necklaces and bodice ornaments that the world-famous soprano owned and wore both on and off the stage, as well as an autographed 1902 photograph of Melba owned by Pierre Cartier.
On display is an intricate diamond rose clip brooch (1938) worn by Princess Margaret at her sister’s coronation, as well as a major selection of exceptional jewels belonging to Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor and wife of former King Edward VIII. These include her famous Flamingo brooch (1947), an extraordinary Bib necklace set with diamonds, amethysts and turquoise (1947), and her 1949 Panther sapphire clip brooch that features an impressive 152.35-carats cabochon sapphire.
Named for their distinctive combination of carved rubies, emeralds and blue sapphires, a rich selection of Cartier’s iconic Tutti Frutti jewels also features, including the most spectacular example of Tutti Frutti jewellery ever created by Cartier: an Indian-inspired necklace commissioned by the Parisian socialite Daisy Fellowes in 1936. The exhibition also features a one-of-a-kind Tutti Frutti bandeau tiara (1928), owned by Countess Edwina Mountbatten and featuring carved emerald, ruby and sapphire leaves on a diamond set branch.
The exhibition also illuminates the Cartier commissions of Mexican actor, María Félix, the cultural phenomenon of Latin American cinema who was described by Jean Cocteau as ‘so beautiful it’s painful’. The display includes the sinuous Snake necklace (1968), which features 2,473 diamonds and scales enamelled in the colours of the Mexican flag, and Crocodile necklace (1975), which features two crocodile forms – one set with fancy yellow diamonds, the other in emeralds.
Additionally, there is a standout selection of Cartier timepieces that showcase the jeweller’s industry-leading innovations in watch and clock making. On display is also a selection of works featuring opals, including a beautiful 1928 Art Deco bracelet mounted with diamonds and five large black opals, as well as a contemporary bracelet (2015) with 189.345-carat precious black opals from Australia.
“Building on the success of its presentation at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the NGV iteration of the Cartier exhibition will showcase pieces never-before-seen in Australia,” said Pierre Rainero, Director of Cartier Image, Style and Heritage.
“It promises to be an enlightening experience for the public, offering a captivating journey into the world of Cartier and its signature style, a living language in permanent evolution. We hope that it will not only inspire delight and awe, but also intellectual curiosity, fostering a deeper appreciation for jewellery as a distinct and powerful artistic expression.”
The never-before-seen exhibition design is a collaboration between the NGV, Studio Sabine Marcelis and CLOUD, two multidisciplinary design practices based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The exhibition design is inspired by colour, light and materiality, three elements that are synonymous with the aesthetic qualities of Cartier’s jewellery.
The exhibition design will reflect Cartier’s extensive network of cultural and gemmological sources that inspire their jewellery creations. The exhibition also features an original soundtrack by Japanese electronic auteur Ai Yamamoto and Finnish composer Erkki Veltheim that combines ethereal salon music and lush electronics.
CARTIER
NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Exhibition continues to 4 October 2026
Entry fees apply
For more information, visit: www.ngv.vic.gov.au for details.
Images: Installation view of CARTIER at NGV International, Melbourne – photo by Sean Fennessy | Alfred Cartier (second from right) with his three sons (left to right), Pierre, Louis and Jacques, 1922. Cartier Collection © Cartier – photo by Vincent Wulveryck | Cartier London, Tiara, 1937. Cartier Collection © Cartier – photo by Vincent Wulveryck | Photograph of Nellie Melba, 1904. This photograph, gifted by Nellie Melba herself, had always been kept in Pierre Cartier’s salon. Provenance: Descendants of Pierre Cartier. Cartier Collection. Marian Gérard, Cartier Collection © Cartier | Installation view of CARTIER at NGV International -photo by Sean Fennessy