Queen Alexandra (1844–1925), born Princess Alexandra of Denmark, became Princess of Wales on her marriage to the future Edward VII in 1863 and Queen Consort on his accession in 1901. For more than four decades she was the central figure in British court and social life, and contemporaries consistently described her as a setter of taste rather than a follower of it.
Her influence on jewellery was specific and far-reaching. The Edwardian court's appetite for diamonds and pearls, its preference for light, elaborate constructions over the heavier gold work of the mid-Victorian era, and its particular attachment to certain forms (the high choker with multiple strands of pearls, the aigrette worn in the hair, the tiara as an everyday fixture of court dress) all reflected her personal aesthetic carried outward through imitation by the women around her. What she wore, society wanted to wear.
Cartier and the London business
Cartier established its London premises in 1902, in the months before Edward VII's coronation, partly at the King's own suggestion. The timing placed the firm at the centre of the jewellery commissions surrounding the event and introduced it to the Edwardian court at a moment when that court had both the wealth and the social ambition to spend significantly on jewellery.
Queen Alexandra's presence shaped the terms of the London business from the outset. The work Cartier London undertook for the Edwardian aristocracy in pearls and diamonds, in the light garland style that had been developed in Paris, was in large part a response to a market she had defined. The clients who came through 175 New Bond Street in those years often wanted pieces that would work within an aesthetic she had established.
Pearls and the dog collar
Her preference for natural pearls, worn in multiple strands as a high choker at the throat, was among the most imitated looks of the Edwardian period. The form became so closely associated with her that it acquired a name in French jewellery vocabulary: the collier de chien, or dog collar. Natural pearls of the quality required for these pieces were among the most expensive objects in the Edwardian luxury market, and the trade in matched strands was a significant part of Cartier's business during this period.
The kokoshnik tiara style, which Cartier adapted from Russian court fashion for European royal clients, also gained currency in part through its suitability for the high, architecturally framed head of Edwardian court dress.
The Edwardian inheritance
Queen Alexandra's reign as consort spanned the years during which Cartier consolidated its position in London and established the relationships with the British royal family that continued across several subsequent reigns. The fuller story of Cartier's relationship with the British Crown, from her era through to the mid-twentieth century, is covered in the British Crown webinar series.
Sources
- Francesca Cartier Brickell, The Cartiers (Ballantine Books, 2019), ch. 2 (“Louis, 1898–1919”) and ch. 3 (“Pierre, 1902–1919”)
- Hans Nadelhoffer, Cartier: Jewelers Extraordinary (Thames and Hudson, 1984; revised 2007), pp. 26, 31 et al.
- Wikipedia: Queen Alexandra
