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The Magna Cartier

The Cartier Collection, formed over the past five decades in part via headline-grabbing purchases at auction, is about marketing as much as heritage—as was the blockbuster V&A exhibition of some of its best-pedigreed jewels.

Grace Kelly
Cartier’s own attention-grabbing auction purchases may also have an effect on prices, driving up perceived value while limiting supply, at least at the very top end. Photo: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images
Julie Brener Davich
November 2, 2025

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This past summer, the Victoria & Albert Museum plastered buses in London with ads for its sold-out Cartier exhibition in South Kensington, which is filled with some of the brand’s best pedigreed pieces: the Williamson Brooch owned by Queen Elizabeth II (loaned by King Charles III), Grace Kelly’s engagement ring (loaned by the Prince of Monaco), several jaw-dropping gems from the Al Thanis. But the majority of precious items came from the brand’s own extensive collection, which Cartier assembled over five decades, partly by buying back culturally significant pieces at auction.