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Episode 9: The Cartiers and the Maharajas - Part II
About This Talk
His house party, said the papers, would make the Arabian Nights look insipid.
Part II zooms in on the Cartier jewels and legendary moments in the extraordinary life of Maharaja Jagadjit Singh of Kapurthala — in conversation with his grandson, Brigadier His Highness Sukhjit Singh, and historian Cynthia Meera Frederick. The story picks up in the electric 1920s: the Paris Exposition des Arts Décoratifs, Cartier's most dazzling Indian-inspired creations, and a turban ornament fashioned from the Maharaja's own emeralds. There's a spectacular house party for 2,000 guests — tents, elephants, fireworks across three weeks — that a newspaper warned would 'make the Arabian Nights look insipid.' And there's the friendly one-upmanship between princes that inspired one of history's greatest commissions: the Patiala Necklace. Vogue declared the maharajas had launched a 'barbaric Indian jewellery' fashion across Paris. The next generation brought a watch collector who wore six Cartier timepieces simultaneously — on his wrist, his walking stick, his ring, and his cigarette case. And then there is Princess Amrit Kaur, the woman Vogue named a secular goddess, whose jewels and style inspired both Cartier and Schiaparelli. As the era drew to a close, hear the Maharaja's grandson reflect on independence, partition, and the bittersweet end of a golden age.
Key Moments
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