Cartier in Motion: the opening

The Design Museum celebrates the creativity of Cartier and design in a new exhibition curated by architect Norman Foster

“The dramatic changes that happened at the beginning of the 20th century influenced all the ways in which we live todays: it really was the birth of the modern age and Cartier is part of that story, the artifacts, the jewelry the watches, at that time were truly radical”. With these words the curator Norman Foster explains the reasons which brought him to take care of Cartier in Motion, the new exhibition to be open on Thursday 25 May at the Design Museum in London.

Norman Foster

Whilst telling the story of Cartier watchmaking and the invention of the modern wristwatch, the exhibition illustrates a time where, amidst upheavals in art, architecture, travel and lifestyles, traces of a new world could be seen, through the prism of Louis Cartier’s involvement with the pioneers of the age, including the renowned aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont – for whom he designed one of the world’s first wristwatches – and noted engineer, Gustave Eiffel.

From Cartier Archives

Over 170 exhibits will provide rare insights into the relationship between Cartier and design from the Collection Palais Princier de Monaco, Principality of Monaco; Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, Paris – Le Bourget; Rockefeller Center, New York; private lenders and the Cartier Collection, along with extracts from material found in the Cartier Archives.