RAPAPORT…
When an Art Deco tutti frutti bracelet by Cartier came up
for auction at Christie’s London sale on June 8, 2011, it carried a presale
estimate of $490,500 to $654,000. The gem value of the bracelet’s emeralds and
rubies is on the low end of the gemstone scale — these stones were chosen
originally for their color, not their clarity. But the Mogul Indian carvers
made the most of the material, turning the stones into realistic depictions of
fruits and leaves. Appreciation for Art Deco jewelry in general, and this style
in particular, has soared in recent years, reflecting the true value of these
tiny works of art. So it was that this tutti futti bracelet, circa 1928,
offered at Christie’s London skyrocketed to $1,887,232, a world-record price
for a tutti frutti bracelet at auction.
When Jacques Cartier started traveling to India in 1911,
meeting with the fabulously rich and bejeweled royals, he was enchanted by the
readily available colorful carved gems he found. It was the genius of Cartier
and his craftsmen that turned these modest gemstones into art by setting them
in exquisite openwork platinum frames, lighting up the gemstones with small,
brilliant-cut diamonds. Outlines of black enamel further set off the
varicolored designs, yielding the look that came to be known as “tutti frutti,”
roughly translated as “fruit salad.” Cartier blazed a singular trail with these
designs, offering women a fashion-forward look that was colorful and casual,
while reflecting the supreme technical and artistic wizardry of the jeweler’s
workshops.
The term tutti frutti did not originate with the design and
was considered rather vulgar at first. It is believed to have been coined in
the 1940s to describe the wildly colorful fruit-basket headdresses worn by
singer Carmen Miranda. The tutti frutti style of jewelry was originally
described as being set with “pierres de couleur” or colored stones. In Hans
Nadelhoffer’s landmark book on the firm, Cartier, Jewelers Extraordinary, two
of the bracelets bought by Linda Porter, wife of renowned composer Cole Porter,
were delineated in terms of their material. The first is described simply as
“Bracelet, designed as a band of engraved sapphire and ruby leaves and emerald
and onyx berries on a diamond branch, 1925.” The second bracelet was likewise described as having
“sapphire and ruby leaves and berries, studded with circular-cut diamonds,
1929.” The second bracelet was more densely set with gems, nearly filling in the
openwork frame. Both bracelets emphasized the colored gems, with the diamonds
taking a distinctly backseat. In later pieces, the diamonds become more
prominent elements.
Each tutti frutti bracelet designed by Cartier is unique
and, within what seems like a narrow category, varies considerably. The
distinctive style, with its combination of colors and materials, drawn up by
visionary designers and brought to life by skilled craftspeople, makes these
pieces both objects of wonder as well as a vital part of the history of
jewelry.
