Image credit: Bonhams
Bonhams announces the sale of one of Cartier’s most iconic designs, a ‘Tutti Frutti’ Bracelet, in the Hong Kong Jewels and Jadeite sale on 28 November 2020.
Instantly recognisable, Cartier’s ‘Tutti Frutti’ much sought-after jewels combine glamour and exoticism in a riot of colour. They were crafted in a variety of forms, but it is the bold bracelets that have captured and kept the attention of collectors for a century.
Initially registered in the Cartier books as ‘Foliage’, the ‘Tutti Frutti’ bracelet boasts a plant-inspired design of carved emeralds, rubies, and sapphires in never-before-seen colour combinations at the time. Every example is unique, requiring master artisans to devote hundreds of hours of careful craftmanship to each piece. The name ‘Tutti Frutti’ was adopted in the 1970s, and new bracelets are still being created by Cartier High Jewellery to this day.
The extraordinary graduated band displays the classic ‘Tutti Frutti’ designs with a palette of rubies, emeralds, and sapphires carved into the shape of leaves and fluted balls, capturing the exuberance and delight of the 1920s.
Leslie Roskind, Bonhams Head of Jewellery, Hong Kong, said: “The ‘Tutti Frutti’ jewellery by Cartier – particularly the bracelet – is undoubtedly the most desirable Art Deco designs for collectors worldwide, and is exceedingly rare at auction. Every ‘Tutti Frutti’ bracelet is unique, but they all represent Cartier’s legendary and timeless legacy.”
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
