Cartier exhibit explores the crystallization of artistry and time

The Seoul leg of “Cartier, Crystallization of Time” centers on the concept of time with a broad spectrum of the French luxury conglomerate’s vintage jewelry and timepieces, offering a glimpse into how they’ve evolved over the past century.

Installation view of "Cartier, Crystallization of Time" at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul. The cloth pillars are made from ra, a type of traditional sheer fabric gauze. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The Seoul leg of “Cartier, Crystallization of Time” centers on the concept of time with a broad spectrum of the French luxury conglomerate’s vintage jewelry and timepieces, offering a glimpse into how they’ve evolved over the past century.

Starting May 1, the show will kick off at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in central Seoul. It’s the second stop following its debut in Tokyo in 2019.

A 2020 Cartier necklace [CARTIER]

But the Japanese company behind the exhibition design, New Material Research Laboratory (NMRL), wants you to know that it’s also based on the “crystallization of [its] artistic mind.”

The show represents co-founders artist Hiroshi Sugimoto and architect Tomoyuki Sakakida’s fondness and passion for stones, exploring the prolonged process of mineral crystals growing from rocks. Considering that some take thousands or even millions of years to form fully, we can appreciate the world's natural wonders.

Ever since humans have noticed their value and taken these minerals to craft them into exquisite, priceless jewelry, we’ve fully realized that they are truly gifts from the universe.

“For [Sugimoto], it was questioning a very notion of time, and so he gave his exhibition a higher vision of much more,” said Pierre Rainero, the image, style and heritage director at Cartier, during a press conference of the exhibition at the DDP on Friday.

“The concept of the title also comes from Mr. Sugimoto because crystallization of time, of course, is a link with the idea of stones, but it also has the link to our creations that have a possibility to crystallize.”

Although the founders of Cartier are no longer around, as the family ceased running the company in 1964, the culture and craftsmanship created within the company endure to this day, Rainero said.

Installation view of "Cartier, Crystallization of Time" at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]

A 1919 Cartier Snake necklace [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Some 300 antique Cartier pieces are on view, including those from Cartier’s own collection and those lent by private collectors. The exhibition is primarily divided into three parts, each shedding light on materials and colors, forms and designs, and universal inspirations.

According to Sakakida, the foremost task was to figure out how the exhibition would reflect humanity's history. Sugimoto was absent from the conference due to scheduling issues.

NMRL, therefore, aimed for a cave exploration-like theme by keeping the exhibit halls dim with only spotlights to illuminate each jewelry piece and implementing raw materials, especially rocks and wood, in the interior to give off such impressions.

“We wanted the audience to think of how greatly time has passed since these natural minerals were turned into Cartier pieces,” Sakakida said. “Highlighting each and every piece in a dark space allows them to sparkle even more.”

The wood, which was carved into shelves and even torso mannequins, had to be from old trees that were thousands of years old, like Japanese cedar. The older a tree is, the greater the texture and tree rings are, making it more “powerful.” Even the old tree smell distinctly permeates throughout the entire exhibition hall.

“This accentuates the beauty of both the jewelry and the wood,” he said.

A 1902 Cartier hair ornament [CARTIER]

Installation view of "Cartier, Crystallization of Time" at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul [JOONGANG ILBO]

The Seoul exhibition, organized by the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, and the Seoul Design Foundation, features a Korean upgrade by Onjium, a Korean cultural heritage research institute specializing in clothing, food and housing.

Onjium contributed to the use of ra, a type of traditional sheer fabric gauze with roots in both Korean and Japanese traditions. The fabric has the same name in both languages and "connects" the space inside. This “shows the correlation between Korea and Japan, and I don’t think there’s a better way to portray it than this,” Sakakida said.

Ra is woven in the 12 cloth pillar-like installations in the prologue section, which separately embrace Cartier’s timepieces, especially its signature mystery and prism clocks. The number 12 alludes to the 12 indexes of a clock.

Onjium also created some of the walls from hanji, or traditional Korean mulberry paper.

A 1918 Cartier Model A mystery clock [CARTIER]

A 1905 Cartier tiara [CARTIER]

It is said that it takes several months to complete a single mystery clock because of the intricate and demanding mechanism required to make it appear like the clock’s two hands are floating on the dial, an optical illusion that only Cartier has pioneered and can achieve.

The exhibition continues to unravel the myriad techniques exclusive to Cartier, like platinum-made tiaras or brooches. The company has popularized the material’s use since the early 20th century, as it is stronger than silver and gold and doesn’t tarnish. Rainero said this was considered a trailblazing attempt as it was “not culturally acceptable to use platinum in jewelry” before that.

Hardstone marquetry, a technique of inlaying thin fragments of gemstones like lapis lazuli and turquoise and later dyed flattened flower petals, has been adopted to decorate vanity cases and watch dials.

Cartier also introduced unconventional yet vivid color combinations, such as red and black or blue and green. One flagship example is the famed Tutti Frutti collection, which comprises combinations of sapphires, rubies, and emeralds in the shape of berries or leaves.

Cartier was strict about the precision of lines and proportions, as depicted in its Essential Lines, but other times, it made lemonade from lemons.

With its distorted oval or rectangular bezel, the Crash watch was inspired by a customer's car accident. Legend has it that the customer brought a heavily dented watch into a Cartier workshop to get it repaired, and the designer was fascinated by the shape, leading to the debut of the Crash series.

A 2021 Cartier necklace [CARTIER]

A 2016 Cartier bracelet [CARTIER]

Cartier found inspiration in all fields imaginable, from animals like snakes and panthers to cultures in Asia and Africa. These inspirations are further revealed in archival documents and books gathered by the Cartier family. Jewelry inspired by Korea is arranged toward the end of the exhibition.

“Cartier, Crystallization of Time” doesn’t simply flaunt its extravagant catalog that spans almost two centuries but serves as an educational overview of the company’s artistic dimension in which it takes immense pride.

“Cartier has never curated their own exhibitions; it’s always external people who give their vision about Cartier. That’s our philosophy,” Rainero said. “In terms of the history of art, jewelry has to play a bigger role and should be studied in a different way in a more in-depth way.”

“Cartier, Crystallization of Time” continues until June 30. The DDP is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Sunday. Hours extend to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are 18,000 won ($13) for adults and can be purchased on Interpark Ticket.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]