Maharajas' Jewels

A study of the jewellery collections assembled by the Indian maharajas, covering the period when Indian rulers brought their ancestral stones — rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and pearls accumulated over centuries — to European jewellers for resetting into contemporary mounts. Cartier was among the most significant of those jewellers, and the Indian commissions represent some of the most distinctive work the house produced.

The book covers the relationship between the maharajas and European jewellery houses from both sides: the Indian tradition of gem-holding and the significance of jewellery in court culture and display, and the European jewellers' encounter with stones on a scale and of a quality that had no equivalent in their domestic market. Jacques Cartier's gem-buying voyages to India and his cultivation of maharaja clients — particularly the Maharaja of Patiala, the Maharaja of Kapurthala, and the Maharaja of Nawanagar — are a central part of this story.

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The jewellery traditions of the Indian courts, the maharajas as clients of European houses, specific commissions including the Patiala Necklace, and the Mughal carved gemstones that passed through Cartier's hands. The Tutti Frutti style — Cartier's use of carved Indian rubies, emeralds, and sapphires alongside diamonds — is treated in depth.

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Available secondhand. The Assouline edition circulates in the specialist book and jewellery market.

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Referenced in glossary entries on Indian Maharajas, Tutti Frutti, Patiala Necklace, Mughal Carved Gemstones, Jacques Cartier, and Maharaja of Patiala. Also cited in the blog post Maharajas and Mughal Magnificence.